{Erin Out and About}: The Art of Road Tripping

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This past weekend I took a quick trip to Ireland with my Irish friend who was picking up her cat and car from her family home. The plan was to fly down on Saturday and after a days rest, eating all the food and drinking all the wine, heading back home to London. The whole journey was a leisurely 7 hours (including a 2 hour ferry ride and 1 hour rest stop) and I learned a few things along the way about being the ideal road trip passenger and the weighty responsibilities it held...

1. The Art of Not Getting Lost

You and you alone are reading the instructions printing off of Google maps; navigating your way through streets you can't pronounce (Thanks Wales for your lack of vowels) and ignoring a Tom Tom GPS from 2003 who insists you are driving through a field and wants you to make a u-turn. No pressure. (I swear I heard Tommy say at one point "You are lost.")

2. The Art of Radio Dialing

When requested for some tunes, don't turn on the radio hit scan and proceed to scan the same 4 stations repeatedly without noticing and then forget that you've hit scan until the driver asks you politely to just pick something. Instead settle on some Motown straight from America, snapping your fingers and seat dancing until the driver gives you side eye.

3. The Art of Snacking

This requires a bit of pre-departure planning. The day before you are set to leave head to the grocery store and purchase fun snacks, preferably with lots of salt and/or lots of chocolate and don't forget a caffeinated drink to give the driver a kick until the next rest station and coffee. Europe is severely lacking a box of timbits which got many a Canadian family road trip through to the end without killing each other.

4. The Art of Not Annoying Others

This may be a tough one. Learn to read your crowd.
Some of the best conversations happen while driving. It's also okay to be quiet and enjoy the scenery, however, make sure you driver doesn't do the same (eyes on the road!).
Feel free to share random thoughts that pop into your head, the weirder the better. You might just discover how much you and your driving buddy have in common.

5. The Art of Distracting Cats*

This might be a rare occurrence, but when the day comes and you find yourself on a road trip driving across Ireland, Wales and England with a cat in a crate, a friend at the wheel and a Google map in your lap, you will remember this post, this list, THIS MOMENT and thank me.