So I Went on a Road Trip

This past April, I went on a road trip.  My first road trip.  I'm such a big girl ;)

Let me lay out the scene for you.  My friends Sammi and Ryan were getting married in Pennsylvania.  My boyfriend, Stephen and I were in the wedding party so, of course, we needed to travel there for the wedding.  We had planned to carpool with friends who were also traveling from Virginia for the event.  I don't particularly like driving long distances, especially on the high way.  The thought of it makes me nervous.  I have a strange, irrational fear of getting pulled over by the police.  No one likes getting pulled over, but I get all sweaty and extremely terrified that I've broken the law.  See?  Seriously irrational.

I had been looking forward to carpooling also due to the fact that I drive a used car that I am comfortable driving around town and short distances.  I just didn't like the idea of traveling over 6 hours each way at high driving speeds.  Plus, splitting gas money is a college student's dream!

A couple of weeks before we were to leave for the wedding, our friends encountered unexpected events and they were not able to attend.

This threw a wrench into Stephen's and my travel plans.  I was freaking out.  HOW were we going to get to PA?  WHAT car was I going to drive?

We looked at Amtrak tickets and decided that with our work schedules and budget, it was not the best plan.  We looked at plane tickets and thought the same.  Our next plan of action was to rent a car.  Stephen and I could split the rental and gas costs and I wouldn't have to drive my own car.  The only issue was that I am not 25, which means the rental company tacks on an additional daily "underage" fee.  The costs were just adding up and up!

Ultimately, we decided it was our best option.  But, I was still stressing over the amount of money I would need to spend since I hadn't previously budgeted for it.  The same day that I placed my reservation with the rental car company, I stopped by financial aid at school to ask a few generic questions.  During the conversation, the financial aid counselor told me that they had charged me too much during the last semester and that I had a negative balance on my account.  I'm not sure exactly why they hadn't informed me of this sooner, but I know it was God's timing that I found out about the credit when I did!  It would be more than enough to supplement the travel costs.  God is so good!

We were all set to go with the rental car!

The wedding was on a Sunday and Stephen and I planned to leave Friday morning so we could get to PA by Friday evening.  That way, on Saturday, we could enjoy the bachelor and bachelorlette festivities and the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner.  The night before we were set to leave, Stephen found out that he might have to work Friday night which means we may not have been able to leave until Saturday morning.  While we could still make the wedding, we were sad we may not be able to enjoy Saturday's festivities.

I called Sammi and let her know of the new information and tears were shed on both ends of the phone line.  I told her I would text her later with any new information.  After my class that day, Stephen called me with a surprise.  He didn't have to work on Friday.  We were free to leave Friday morning!

BUT, I never called Sammi and let her know of this little development.  Am I a mean friend? ;)

Friday morning rolls around and Stephen and I head to the airport (thanks to our lovely friends Crystal and David) to pick up the rental car.  It was a cute little car, but big enough to fit our luggage and fit Stephen's long legs.

We left the airport at approximately 10:30 a.m.  We still needed a few outfit items for the wedding, so we stopped by the mall on our way out of town.  God continued to bless us both tremendously, as we found our items at prices a lot less than we anticipated.  At around noon, we left the mall and were headed to PA!

I had been loaned a fancy GPS to use during our travels (thanks Rich and Dawn!).  We set the GPS and began our travels.  We spent sometime getting out of VA.  I got to drive over a long bridge that I have only ever seen from above when I fly into Virginia.  It was a cool experience.

Stephen and I really enjoyed our time together in the car.  He makes me laugh so much and we spent time making jokes and being silly together.  It was a great bonding experience.

Detour:  Remember when I said I have a fear of getting pulled over?  Well, about 2 hours into our trip, we were driving on a back roads highway with 2 lanes on each side.  Knowing cops would scatter the area, I drove only 5 over the speed limit.  Then, I see a police car behind me.  My heart stops, my palms get sweaty, and I slow to the speed limit.  I drive like this for several miles.  The cop stays behind me.  Stephen tells me to go a little faster and to move into the next lane so the cop can go past.  But I am frozen in fear.  Suddenly, the cop's lights go on.  Oh shoot.  So, I drive a little further and pull over.  My mouth is dry as the officer walks up to my window and asks for my license.  He asks me why I was going so slow.  I explain my fear of getting pulled over and my safe driving nature.  After running my license and seeing that I wasn't sketch, he tells me to drive a little faster and to stay in the right lane and sends us on our way.  The first thing Stephen does is call my dad to tell him I got pulled over for the first time!  Stephen thought the whole situation was funny.

We continued driving and stopped about 3 hours in to stretch our legs and eat.  McDonald's it is!  We were already tired and looked forward to reaching our destination in a few hours.  I don't think we even know what state we were in at this point.

A few hours later, we finally drove into PA.  It was rush hour and I ended up taking a wrong exit.  This put us out of the way about 45 minutes.  We stopped for gas to recoup and ended up taking the streets to our final destination.  This way we could avoid any other toll booths.  It was a nice scenic drive in the lovely hills of PA.  The sun was setting.  Very romantic, if I do say so myself.

At about 7:30 p.m., we were close to Sammi's.  Remember, she still thought we weren't coming until the next morning.  We pulled into the driveway and could hear sounds coming from the house.  Stephen and I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.  Ryan's dad answered and was shocked to see us.  He was quiet as he led us into the house.  I hear Sammi say, "Dwight, is that you?!" (Dwight was a groomsman they had been expecting to arrive around that time).  Then, Sammi saw that it was us and I couldn't tell if she was mad or glad!  ;)  It was definitely a surprise!  Of course, Sammi was happy that we had arrived on Friday.

It was fun to reunite with all of our friends to celebrate the days leading up to the wedding and the wedding itself.

After the wedding on Sunday, Stephen and I had to leave right away.  We both had to be at work the next day.  We left PA around 7:30 p.m.  The sun had just started to set.  I set cruise control.  And off we went.  Our return trip went a lot smoother than the trip down.  The roads were empty and quiet.  Stephen stayed up with me the entire trip :)  We stopped after a few hours to eat.  I was sad our trip was ending.  I so enjoy spending time with my dear Stephen.  We arrived in VA later than expected, probably around 1:30 a.m.  We were both extremely tired.  After dropping Stephen at his apartment, I went home and unpacked all my belongings.  I dropped into my bed and fell asleep.  The following morning, my sister Alex followed me to the airport so I could return the rental car.  Thus, the final chapter of our road trip had concluded.

Needless to say, it was a really fun trip!  It helped me get over my fear of driving (a little bit).  And I got to spend a lot of time with Stephen.  Of course, it was great standing with my friends as they got married!

I look forward to my next road trip and hope it is as fun as my first.