Sometimes, you just have to take to the open road and drive

There's something soothing about getting in a car, getting out of town and taking off for parts unknown.For about two and a half years, we lived out in Arizona and we'd toss the tent and sleeping bags in the trunk, fill up a cooler with sodas and water, and hit the road. Sometimes we had a destination in mind, sometimes not. We'd strike out in a new direction and discover. Every weekend.In Arizona, it's pretty easy to drive a couple hours and find something interesting. It's also pretty easy to drive a couple hours and be in the middle of Nowheresville, Sonoran Desert. But even that was cool. Sometimes we'd drive to new cities and seek out used bookstores and thrift stores where we'd scour through the books for sale. Other times we'd hydrate and go for a hike.We continued that when we moved back to the New York area. We'd hop on a parkway and go in a direction we hadn't before. We'd explore all the little towns around us, then go further afield. Visiting family in Pennsylvania and upstate, we'd do the same. Even after the kids were born, especially when they were infants, we'd do drives like that all the time. The driving motion would help them sleep and we'd see new and interesting things.When we went to Niagara Falls a few years ago, we drove all the way from New Jersey, stopping at various landmarks along the way. We went to tons of state parks and saw many waterfalls and hiked and hiked and hiked. The boys love that and fight over who gets to be the "trailblazer". They've learned to enjoy exploring this way and though they will ask where we're going, they've learned to live with "we're not sure" as the answer, so long as it's not every time.Between my husband and I, we've been to all but one or two of the Lower 48 states, many of them together. We've driven 90 mph on straightaways in Montana (back when the speed limit there was "what is reasonable and prudent"), stopped for wildlife crossing the road in various national parks, visited volcanoes, slept under the stars that didn't come out until 11 p.m. because we were almost at the Arctic Circle, and, of course, slept in our car at truck stops on more than one occasion (not since we've had children!).We live in a very beautiful country with quirks and blemishes and interesting people and places in every corner. We've seen Utah looking like Mars in the dead heat of summer, and flowers blooming in the desert during a wet winter. We've seen all these through the windshield of the car - making our decisions on where and went to stop on a whim.I miss doing that as often. The boys are older and have a lot of homework. We're older and don't necessarily feel like just hopping in the car and making our way out of our crowded metro area.But I know that when I'm in a car, with the road open in front of me, I'll happily roll down the window and let the wind blow on my face.Photo by Dylan Gialanella via Unsplash.