Before you write this post off as some move to try to get more business, I love flying. I don’t love the process of getting on a flight, but I love flying to new places. In fact, last year I flew for a combined 93 hours . But after some disastrous experiences, I’m embracing my inner Midwesterner and you should too, no matter where you’re from.
If you haven’t seen the memes yet, let me fill you in. Along with the relentless jokes about Ohio lately, it’s come to light that Midwesterners will drive instead of fly the majority of the time. For example, Midwesterners might say “why would we pay to fly? It’s only a 16hr drive”, but apparently the same is not true for other parts of the nation. Growing up in Ohio and taking trips to Florida every few years, we always drove the 14 hours. I didn’t even realize you could fly to Florida until I was 14. Honestly, the trips were really fun, we did them over 2 days and stopped at cool places along the way – something flying doesn’t allow for.
So, what makes someone who flew over 10 times in one year decide that in 2023 they aren’t getting on a plane at all?
Well, first I miss the amazing views, bonding time, and flexibility road trip traveling gives me. Secondly, I had some entirely awful experiences. I’ll spare you the details, but one trip was not only delayed by 4 hours when 2 hours into the flight we were re-routed to a completely different airport at midnight. It worked out, and we got home, and I’m thankful my veterinarian was flexible enough to board my adorable dog, Oreo, for an extra day.
Another time we paid a decent price for a 14hr business class flight to our destination, but on the way back, for no reason other than the airline being operated by “American Airlines” the less luxurious business class was being offered for double what we paid the first time. The average traveler can’t afford that, we only upgraded to business the first time because it was our honeymoon so we had some wedding gift money stashed away. That made me so upset, because they wanted to give us less and charge us more. Flights are becoming increasingly irritating.
Road trips and driving tend to be more certain.
Sure, mishaps can still happen like mechanical issues, accidents, or getting stuck in the mud or snow. The difference is, you’re in more control of those situations. You’ll likely have roadside assistance and be in less of a time crunch than missing a 2hr layover. There is no gate agent to argue with about a refund, no TSA checkpoint to try and haul your whole family through without getting yelled at or patted down, and you leave when you want to leave, no delays aside from the occasional traffic jam.
Last year over 200,000 flights were canceled across the country.
That number doesn’t even cover delays or lost baggage. Let’s face it, the chances of losing everything you own is significantly lower on a road trip.
It’s much easier to pivot on a road trip.
For example, we flew over the Statue of Liberty and I realized very suddenly I’ve never experienced New York City, but I couldn’t go spend half a day there because I had another flight to catch. If I were driving to my destination I could have spent part of a day exploring New York City and make up the time by driving a little longer on another day or shortening part of another adventure. The point being – road trips allow for more flexibility, more memory making, and more discovery of the world around us.
I’m not saying never fly again, I have plans to fly to see family this December, and sometimes vacation time doesn’t allow for the drive. I am recommending that, if you can drive to your destination, you should, the journey will be so worth it.
“It’s the not the Destination, It’s the journey.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you want to plan a road trip, I’m putting out more blog posts to help you find cool places in any state. If you want to take a road trip but you’re not so into the details, I’d love to plan one for you! I have several different types of road trips all available at 3 different service and price points. Visit my services page or email me at [email protected] for more information.
My favorite part of road trips are the unexpected journey’s along the way, if you have a cool story please share it with me, I love to get to know other travelers! If you have a disaster story on the road that made you want to fly instead and want to share with me in spite of this article, I say go for it. It never hurts to have multiple perspectives.
Thanks for reading!
Taysia