Words About Things

Our original summer holiday plan this year was to go camping for a couple of weeks. We are lucky enough to live in a very scenic area so it’s easy to just get in the car and drive for an hour or so to a nice small campsite. Other than the fact that our tent isn’t quite as long as I am this was a good plan. The weather seems to be against us however, the sun was shining brightly when these plans were made but today it is gray and raining.

Browsing for travel inspiration I found a series of photos on the Guardian website linked by the theme of the open road. The Guardian ran a monthly travel photography competition and its theme for May was road tripping, the submissions (at least those which made it onto the site) are great.

I have wanted to take a proper road trip preferably in a big old convertible American car, ever since I read On The Road. I’m sure there are plenty of car hire companies on Route 66 with red Cadillacs read to go. Judging by this picture Cuba might be good fun as well or even riding a motorbike through Bolivia. A road trip in England might be slightly different however. I’m not sure there is much glamor involved as driving in England makes me think of Little Chefs, traffic jams and that couple who apparently circled the M5 a few times thinking that they were heading North.

Driving through the lanes of England’s countryside can be good fun but shouldn’t be attempted in a Cadillac. You may find yourself having to reverse for 5 miles with an angry looking farmer driving his tractor towards you.

Some of the best movies of all time (and some not-so-good ones) have featured road trips: Easy Rider, À Bout De Souffle, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and of course SpongeBob SquarePants The Movie. The possibilities of the open road mean that anything can happen, the constant travel propels the story forwards and the characters always arrive home a different person.

“We were all delighted, we all realized we were leaving confusion and nonsense behind and performing our one noble function of the time, move.”

Jack Kerouac – On The Road

That might be slightly more than most of us want from a holiday but you get the idea: take to the open road and see what happens. You can’t do this in a Mondeo though, you need a Cadillac or something similarly retro. At the very least car hire is necessary so that you can get something big enough to pick up hitchhikers or sleep in the back if you can’t find anywhere to stay. You also need a video camera to record your adventure, a budget one such as a Flip will do and leaves more money free for car rental. Good Luck!