The Monday before New Years, my boss decided that we would close down the office on Wednesday after lunch. This meant I had 2.5 days of extra vacation time. Coupled with the weekend, I had 5.5 days outside of the office. What could I do with all that time? I knew immediately. Road trip.
I decided I was going to try and go to as many states as I could. Some people do milage runs for airlines. I do them for states. After I got home from work, I began researching. I wanted to go as far as I could but still stay south. It was winter after all. So I decided I would try and make it to Arkansas.
Next I began to look at things to do in Arkansas. I knew that I didn’t have money for this trip, so all my activities had to be free. Hiking it was! I began to look at popular trails.
That is when I came across a National Geographic article on a scenic route that started in Eureka Springs. It looked gorgeous so I decided to use that as my starting points for the trip. Before I knew it, I had a route that passed through 8 states…5 of which were new for me.
I spent that night planning as much as I could. Then Tuesday, I confirmed with a couple of friends to let me borrow a sleeping bag and a tent. After work I picked those up and then planned some more. I only had 2 rules for the trip:
1) Make a memory in every new state (but really all of them) to make it count.
2) Spend as little money as possible
Turns out, my boss got sick so we were closed Wednesday morning. A bonus half day! I still spent the morning planning because I hadn’t gotten as far as I would have liked but eventually, you just have to go.
Some people might have thought I was crazy but when you travel in countries where you can’t speak the language and still come out the other side unscathed, travelling in your homeland sounds like a breeze. Planning seems so overrated when you can read signs, talk to people, understand their replies and know that almost every place will take a credit card if it comes to that. Not to mention I have a data plan.
So with less than 48 hours of planning, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, I took off on my first road trip which also happened to be my first solo trip which also happened to be my first camping experience which also happened to be the first of many firsts.
First stop
Birmingham, Alabama