How A Road Trip Should Work

It's been an interesting kind of day. We stayed up last night, far later than planned. We got up late this morning, or at least I did. We left Montgomery later than planned, adding a stop at the State Capitol along the way. We certainly didn't drive as far as we planned today, nor did we arrive when we thought we would. Yet here we are, just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, settling in for the night.

David says this has become less of a road trip, more of a meander, like we were on a river slowly twisting and curling our way, stopping as the river bends, knowing where the next port might be, knowing that we can stay or go as we please. That meander almost took a complete detour today as we discovered that the Lynchburg Jack Daniel's Distillery was a mere hour off to the east of us. Alas, common sense prevailed. We are both exhausted from our late night last night. We wanted to be in and settled much earlier today, and asleep well before 11:00 PM, maybe even 10:00 PM.

David and I clearly have different needs and wishes on a trip like this, none of them competing with one another, just different. For example, David likes to eat tried and true. One of his favourites is a MacDonald's Big Mac, although he has discovered the Grand Mac on this trip. I, one the other hand, am an epicurean adventurer. Sushi is always on the menu for me; fish in any form is virtually absent from David's menu at all times. I love a good wine; David loves a new, different beer whenever he can find it.

It's hotel choices where the difference truly shows. While my needs for a roll in shower and the desire on both our parts for two separate beds drive the base of our hotel choices, I am good with that configuration in almost any hotel better than a Motel 6. On the other hand, David definitely prefers the upscale properties which I can no longer afford. He assures me this is not a problem. I believe him. My comfort is in the shower, the ability to sleep in a comfortable bed, a clean room. David's comforts include the quality and grade of hotel as well.

But it works. We both had that momentary dream today of heading off to Lynchburg, We even talked about a detour to Fort Knox. We wake up each morning with a general idea of direction. David has a working plan for the day. I go along, tossing out questions and ideas enough to make him wonder. We both see things and go "Oh shit! We need a picture of that." It's how a road trip should work.