We’re nearing the end of February and with the end of February comes, you guessed it, Spring Break.
None of our friends’ or siblings’ schools are out at the same time and we are about to be stuck at home with nothing going for us. Barring a lonely trip to an isolated beach that’s probably still frozen over or hanging out at the bowling alley with your little brother and his high school friends, boredom is coming. Luckily, we’re all in the same boat. What can we do?
As my friend Kelly and I discovered last semester, the answer is a road trip! There are tons of things to do around our area that are within a fairly reasonable distance, and with the right playlist equipped
and snacks at hand
you could end up anywhere!
(Samantha and Kellyrose)
There are a handful of popular touristy areas worth visiting in this region, and tons of hidden little places you can find by exploring or asking around. Montreal, New York City, and Boston are only about a three and a half hour drive, Niagara Falls is four to five and a half hours, and if you’re feeling super adventurous DC is about 8.
Any amount of time in the car requires tunes, but when you’re spending this long on the road a good playlist is essential! You need songs to jam to, songs to ground you, and songs related to driving, because why not.
Here are some of our must-have songs:
- We Didn’t Start the Fire – Billy Joel
- Habits – Tove Lo
- 1,000 Miles – Vanessa Carlton
- Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna
- The Middle – Jimmy Eat World
- Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
- On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
- Drive My Car – The Beatles
- The Final Countdown – Europe
- Anyway You Want it – Journey
- One Headlight – The Wallflowers
- Bang Bang – Jessie J
- American Pie – Don McLean
- I Would Walk 500 Miles – The Proclaimers
- Blank Space – Taylor Swift
- Dance, Dance – Fall Out Boy
- Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi
- Complicated – Avril Lavigne
- Heroes – Alessa
- American Girl – Tom Petty
- Take me to Church – Hozier
- A Disney Medley
The playlist is not all, though. You’re going to need something else to pass the time and distract yourself from the fact that you have to pee in between rest stops! Of course we have our classic car games like I Spy or the License Plate game, but do either of those ever really work? There are only so many times you can spy the red truck three vehicles up or forget if you’ve already seen Florida. A new favorite of mine is Twenty Questions. You can literally pass an entire drive playing our version, in which you actually have unlimited questions to guess who/what the other is thinking of. The more obscure a person/object you embody the better. It took at least twenty-five minutes to guess that I was Ozzy Osbourne.
Pro-tip: do not embody the artist currently on the radio.
If you’re lucky, one of you might have family in the area you’re headed too. Maybe that’s even the reason you’re going there! It certainly solves the problem of having to scrounge up money for a decent hotel, which is the one thing I do not have advice for. When we went to Niagara Falls, we stayed with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and their dog. Unfortunately, you will not be graced with photos of them. Instead, here’s a few more of us!
You might find somewhere really cool (just don’t jump the fence to get a better look).
You could run into your idol (Nikola Tesla).
But you could also get your hand stuck in a fence like this idiot.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, it’s a good idea to have cash on hand and a fully charged phone. If you’re going to take a chance and find somewhere new to explore, don’t go into it unprepared, especially if you’re crossing the border! Don’t forget your passport, either, because it’s easy to get into Canada but without your passport it’s a lot harder to get back. But most importantly, (high school teacher voice) have fun!