Road trips are a great way to see the world. They are easier in some parts of the world than others and financially smarter when gas is $1.56 vs $4.40/gallon. Road trips have been tricky for Brett and I over the past several years as we do not own a car.

When we lived in downtown Boston and walked to work, it was completely unnecessary - especially with Zipcar (a really cool car sharing service). When we moved back to Indiana, we were not intending on staying very long and used a car my dad had. Although our stay was extended, we still did not have to break down and purchase or lease a vehicle. Thanks Dad!

But now, with determining what the next move is in this great game of LIFE, the topic of road trips has emerged. My thought is to have a vehicle with enough cargo space that we can sleep it in - a Toyota 4Runner, just about any mini van and some models of station wagons would work - my favorite however is a VW Bus. Brett’s thoughts are about gas mileage, cost of maintenance and repair, and how long exactly we would be living in this vehicle.

I see a very romanticized version in my head full of waking up surrounded by moose in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, to the sound of sea gulls on the coast of Oregon, to the …. it goes on and on in my mind. Beautiful sights and sounds and smells.

The logistical side - vehicles with enough flat cargo space for us to have a decently comfortable sleeping area - how much gas and maintenance and tolls and repairs will add up to - bathrooms, showers, cooking - the “where we go, why we go there and what we do there” part of the road trip are not as immediately important to me.

Who knows if we will take a road trip or not. The first big decision for us will be which continent the road trip would be on as transporting vehicles across oceans is not always economically advantageous.

I have found blogs about people who live out of their vehicle for a cross-the-US road trip - but for whatever reason, these trips are quick, rushed, non-stop. I don’t really see the point of driving for five days straight to cross the US as a road trip adventure. What did you see? What did you get to experience? Five minutes in the state of Kansas? Great! But does that really count for anything?

If we do take a road trip, I hope for it to be slow paced. Stopping and spending time in various locations along the way. Actually being able to compare and contrast the places that we experienced on our travels.