The Weekend 34 has begun its road trip. Have you figured out your "why" and your "where" yet? Answering those two questions allows you to take the next step: planning your route. That course of action will be filled with individual destinations, which we will call "mile markers." Assembling those mile markers creates a mosaic that illuminates the purpose of your trip. If you weren't sure of why you're going towards your "where," it should become clear once you pick the spots for seeing the sights, stretching your legs, and calling it a night.
When I posted my previous blog on my personal Facebook page, a number of my friends were quick to jump in with their ideas of how they would fill the time and space of the two-week journey. Motoring down Route 66, arriving at the Grand Canyon with enough time to spend a week camping, following the route of Lewis and Clark's expedition, or visiting SEC stadiums were all potential dream adventures. Anyone with a functioning imagination can see the possibilities of those ideas. But those are merely ideas. They are not trips. In order to become trips, they need to first become plans. And those plans, whether they leave room to improvise or involve numerous reservations, must contain mile markers if they are to succeed.
Those markers must strike a balance between being a vague outline or something set in concrete. View them as stakes in the earth. Firmly set, but capable of being pulled up with just a little effort.
Unless you are an incredibly experienced traveler with a gift for wandering, "winging it" isn't going to cut it. At best, it reduces the time spent enjoying yourself. Eventually, you'll be glued to a map while pulled over at The Last Rest Stop On The Left looking for a good restaurant or trying to get internet service at The Hurry Up and Waite Truckstop in order to figure out if there is anything worth seeing in the vicinity. At worst, your trip will end in exhausted regret once you realize all the places and experiences you missed. All because you didn't do a little recon before racing off into the great unknown. If you don't believe me, just ask journalist Kevin Fedarko about The Grand Canyon. You're going to have to plan at some point, so why not do it before your trip?
That being said, overplanning is the merge lane onto that famous road paved with good intentions. If your mile markers are set too rigidly, demand absolute adherence to specific times, or are so dependent upon one another to the point of collapsing the entire trip if not perfectly executed, you might want to lighten up a tad. You're looking for adventure and whatever comes your way. You are not the supervisor of a transit authority in a fascist state.
Two weekends ago, Mike and Jennifer Wendland joined the show to talk about their cross-continent adventure "RV Lifestyle." Their journey began as a retirement plan to see the country in a more measured approach than Mike's old job as a journalist, but it quickly became a post-retirement career. The dynamic-driving-duo transformed their personal trip into a website that includes blogging, podcasting, and YouTube influencing. The places they go, the people they meet, and the insights they gather become fodder for the rich content they provide. All the while, they give tips and rules for maximizing joy throughout North America.
One of those rules that has stuck with me since that conversation relates directly to our mile markers. It's called The 330 Rule, and it might be a good place to start for newbies of the whole road trip lifestyle. Mike sums it nicely: stop when you have driven 330 miles or it's 3:30 in the afternoon. The rule is an ingenious combination of safety and sanity. It allows the Wendlands not to lose focus on the highway while simultaneously giving them enough daylight to enjoy their destinations. Unique classes, spectacular vistas, and unrushed meals become the priority rather than distance or time. For many in the trucking industry, it is essentially doing the opposite of everything they have ever been told to do.
The rule creates breathable space that returns your body to terra firma on a regular basis. It is the travelers insisting to themselves that the trip is meant to be enjoyed. Keeping The 330 Rule in mind will help you create your mile markers. When you begin to plan all your stops along the way, you'll be governed not by cramming it all in but by making the most of the time you have.
That previously mentioned "SEC Stadium Road Trip" was the brainchild of Shannon Currier of The St. Christopher Fund. In her reply to my post, she readily acknowledges that the 10-to-14 day limit makes it impossible to attend a home game at every school. But the foundation of her idea allows for a couple of intriguing options that manage to incorporate the 330 Rule.
With 14 days to complete her journey, she could choose three games to attend. She would then use the travel time between those games to stop in and see the other stadiums. Unless the SEC adds even more schools, that plan is logistically possible. The only drawback to that approach is finding a route that simultaneously covers the campuses while making sure she is seeing quality games. LSU's Death Valley at night is an earthquake of an experience, but it's a little anticlimactic if they're lining up against Nicholls State. The balance is making sure you're getting a tour punctuated with a triple shot of gridiron adrenaline.
Here's where improvisation comes in handy. My suggestion is to change the model slightly. Find three quality games involving SEC programs, check how many other SEC schools you can stop at along the way, and fill the remainder of the trip with sights worth seeing.
For example, Texas A&M welcomes Notre Dame to College Station on August 31st, South Carolina arrives in Kentucky on September 7th, and because I know Shannon loves to roll with The Tide, Alabama, under new coach Mike DeBoer, rolls into Madison, Wisconsin September 14th. I realize that last game is not being played down south, but you know Luke Bickell's squad will be at full attention when the elephants come to town. That atmosphere is going to be electric, and those folks in cheese country know how to tailgate.
Looking at the map, it would only take a few detours to hit a number of SEC campuses. Once you figure out those stops, dining falls into place if your focus is on the football culture of those communities. If the trip's purpose isn't strictly football, there are a number of museums, national parks, and roadside eateries to enjoy while you anticipate the thrill of Saturday afternoon college football. Finally, the Wendland's approach to travel can easily be honored allowing Shannon to appreciate not just the arrivals but the journey as well.
And just like that, Shannon's adventure has begun. She is heading through the heart of America, she'll be celebrating the beginning of college football season, and she has chosen College Station, Lexington, and Madison as her principal destinations. She has her "where," her "why," and her three initial mile markers. There is still a great deal of planning to be done, but it is now a matter of making choices rather than figuring out a design. In other words, we're now talking logistics. That means answering the question of "how?"
It's where we'll turn to next.
In honor of Shannon, I'll end this post with a quote from former Alabama coach Nick Saban.
"When you have a system, you kind of get in a routine of what's important. And then you spend a lot more time on thinking of things that would make it better."
