Life is about the journey not the destination. If you feel your flight money is better invested in partying, exploring and bonding with friends—road tripping is the way to go. Unfortunately, boredom can accompany the long car rides.
As a veteran of spending countless hours in the family car listening to my father's oldies and staring out the window, I've developed some helpful, fun tips that are sure to pass the time, especially going through the boring flat land of Indiana, no offense Hoosiers.
In keeping with brain stimulation, as those long hauls can often be mind numbing, I like to think of creative and witty Facebook groups such as ""Advocates for the Advocacy of Advocating Avocation"" and ""For Those of Us Who Want To Be a Member of a Group With a Really Really Really Long Name, This Is it.""
For non-Facebookers, long car rides can be a great opportunity to get to know your fellow travelers, and vice versa. You will want to know if the person sitting next to you will be willing to bail you out of jail or be in there with you before you let the spring break mayhem begin.
Stopping at exotic, unfamiliar or funny-sounding gas stations or stores always provides entertainment from the monotony of hours in the car. I am always amused by pictures of people standing in front of Kum-N-Go's, Dari King's and Drive-Thru Liquor Stores like they're major archeological finds. You won't be the first person to present this new chain to the world, but it will sure feel that way.
What road trip would be complete without the proper soundtrack? With iPods as common to college students as beaches are to Florida, an ample supply of songs is usually available. I suggest a strong variety to keep everybody in the car happy, because in those close quarters for that long, you don't want to annoy anyone.
Sing-a-longs are always fun as long as everyone is familiar with the songs. Badger game day favorites such as ""Buttercup,"" ""Swing Town"" and ""Sweet Caroline"" are a pretty safe bet for any UW-Madison student. Other good road trip songs include Tom Petty's ""Running Down a Dream,"" The Who's ""Baba O'Reilly"" or Lynyrd Skynyrd's ""Freebird."" Ultimately, it is necessary to make a good mix before the trip begins.
Although the shuffle feature can be fun, if you are looking for a whole album, promising options are the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, The Doobie Brother's Greatest Hits and Van Halen's 1984. These albums feature several well-known tunes that will even leave non-fans rocking out with the windows down.
Remember that spring break, like life, is about the journey not the destination. You can have as much fun and excitement on the way there as you can during the rest of break.
