4 days and $144 later, I had driven through
Birmingham, Alabama
Holly Springs, Mississippi
Memphis, Tennessee
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Erbie, Arkansas
Springfield, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois
Metropolis, Illinois
Paducah, Kentucky
Nashville, Tennessee
and made it full circle in coming back to Atlanta Saturday night completing my last minute road trip. I had learned quite a bit on this trip. If I had to do it over again – I totally would because I learned so much. But would I do the same trip again having done this one? No way!
Lessons I learned:
- There is a reason you don’t hear about people roadtripping and also camping for that matter in winter (Especially over New Years when everything closes). Because no one does it! For good reason. It’s hard to do anything outside because it’s so cold.
- You can’t throw together a cheap road trip that is also flawless – because cheap done right takes time. I of all people should have known this. Last minute decisions are always the most expensive decisions – unless you’re stubborn and broke which is how I pulled this one off.
- If you like sharing awkward things that happen to you, then don’t plan a trip that includes too many firsts for you. My awkwardness is one of my favorite things about myself and I lost so many moments I wanted to share with people because 90% of this trip was a first for me: solo travel, road trip, camping, the list could go on
- The people who know me best didn’t really bat an eye at this trip. Even when I told my parents (once I had gotten to Tennessee), they weren’t even that surprised. Although honestly, I don’t think much I do surprises them anymore.
- Mistakes are easier to live with than regret. Everything I did on this trip, every decision (and by every I mean 90%) was a mistake. I should have planned more, I should have known more, I should have done basically everything different. But I didn’t. I did everything the best I could and adjusted after every mistake. But those are way easier to live with – and not just because they give me better stories to tell – but because if I hadn’t gone on this trip, I would have regretted it. It’s so much easier to live with “Oh yeah I would have done that completely differently” than “I wonder what would’ve happened if…” Personally, I’d rather dream of the future than dream of the past.
So here’s to new adventures, new mistakes and new stories to tell! 2016 is going to be full of them!