by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: May 10, 2010

There are as many different types of cross country road trips as there are people who take them on an annual basis and the types of people who embark on these American iconic experiences.  It may have been easier during the Summer of Love, with the Doors playing on the radio and the doors between reality and perception clouded by mind altering substances.  Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper gave us the immemorial picture of two drug-addled free spirits, cruising the roads with no more than adventure in mind.

Now, however, these are the people we pray that we do not come across, as we know what drugs and alcohol do to driving control and judgment.  The road trip has changed over from the hippies, to the college crowd, then to the families, and finally to the retired couples, or groups of retired widows and widowers.  Now, we have all of these groups camping side by side, and making long convoys down ocean-view highways and byways, all following the lure of the open road, and not deciding which way to turn until you come to an intersection or dead end.

But with children thrown into the mix, and the lack, or overwhelming amount of electronic entertainment, aside from the time immemorial “Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?” cacophony from the rear seats, we face keeping our sanity in tact.  But, in this day of road rage and over-priced foods and memorabilia, how are we expected to do so?

Some tips for surviving a cross-country road trip with your sanity intact include, but in no way are limited to;

*    Bring people you like.  It may seem cruel, but your wits are in danger here.  Having to put up with family in confined spaces for long periods of time can be more than stressful, it can be downright painful.  Bringing people who you know that you get along with, and that they all get along with each other, as well as you, then the chances of retaining your sanity multiply.  The problem is, sometimes you just don’t get to pick all of the passengers.

*    Splurge for an RV.  With as many as ten people, renting a large RV, with slide out rooms, will make for a much more comfortable drive, and your sleeping quarters are already provided (tents are added to relieve some crowding at night).   Gas money is combined and the cross-country road trip can have more side trips, and camp at more beautiful sites.

*    No alphas.  Having

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