Over the past eight weeks I have driven just under 6,000 miles for more than 96 hours in my car. I am not a big fan of driving or road trips--so I have not particularly enjoyed these long excursions. All the hours in the car have taken me to visit family, friends and work. It should go without saying that I have loved seeing my family and friends--but I think next summer I might just fly.
There are only two benefits of spending 96 hours in a car and one is listening to books on cd. I decided that I would check out audio books from one author and listen to as many of his books in order on the drives. The author of choice was David Baldacci. I love his books because they combine mystery, detectives, adventure and politics. I love his King/Maxwell series and the Camel Club series.
One particularly eventful drive to Idaho I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't realize that the audio book publishers had added sound effects to the book--all of a sudden I heard a BOOM and freaked out thinking that I had just blown a tire. Trying to prevent my car from spinning out on the highway, I gripped the stearing wheel and slowed down--only to discover that the BOOM was from pretend gunfire sound effects in the novel. I couldn't help but laugh as my heart rate slowly returned to normal. I am pretty sure the drivers behind me must have thought I was drunk.
The second positive is looking at scenery. My 6,000 miles have been through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Washington and the majority of those drives are through rural and uninhabited areas. I love living in the west because of the Mountains and the miles and miles of beautiful land.
My car adventures are not finished yet, I still have to return home at the end of the week and one more big drive in August--the rest of my summer travels I will get to enjoy from an airplane seat.
Do you enjoy long car rides? How do you pass the time?