road trip

My friend Chris and I recently planned a spontaneous road trip. Now you may ask, "How does one plan a spontaneous road trip?" Well, according to us, pick a day to start and finish as well as a few people to see. Don't plan anything else in advance....just make it up as you go along.

Our trip turned out to be a glorious adventure! And although it did not really advance my two year goals specifically, I visited UPenn's Medical campus briefly. That seems like enough justification to write about the trip here. :)

Here's the run down:

• 2 people, namely Chris and Amy
• 57.5 hours total
• ~748 miles traveled
• 5 states traversed (Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware)
• 3 tanks of gas
• People seen: Amy's parents; Amy's high school friends; Simran, Chris's friend and coworker; Alyse, Amy's sister; and our mutual friend, Kerri, and her grandparents
• $11.95 in tolls
• 8 U-turns
• 12.5 CDs heard while driving
• 6 ears of corn eaten (with butter)
• a questionable amount of ozone destroyed while observing a tractor pull at the Franklin County Fair (green trip??....oops)
  
• 2 dairy cow shows witnessed
• 1 chinchilla located in Amy's senior yearbook
• ~7 times Chris said "Oh my gosh! I love Julia Child/Meryl Streep!!"
  
• 2 pieces of "meat substitute" that looked like watermelon candy in Chris's noodle soup while visiting Sim
  
• 1 poser university (There was a sign on Univeristy of Penn's campus that said "The Nation's First University." We, as W&M alumns, were incensed.)
  
• 2 attempted entrances/break-ins into Penn buildings
• Only 1 successful entrance (the Hyperbaric Medicine Building) after begging to use the bathrooms
  
• 4 bus rides
• 1 student art exhibit attended
• 1 bubble milk tea in Philly's Chinatown (It was for Chris, but Amy was brave and tried it.)
• 2 historic sites visited (Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell museum)
• 1 historic site that basically looked like the W&M Wren building (Independence Hall)
• 5 layers of clothing soaked in Philly rains
• 2 Scientology centers walked passed offering "free stress tests"
  
• 1 Quaker meeting house front yard visited
• 0 (+/- 1 gymnasium) places of worship actually attended
• 30 miles traveled to "nearest" Target
• 12 Target aisle searched for earplugs for Alyse
• 0 times Kerri mowed her lawn because she visited with us
• 4 sleeping arrangements without air conditioning
• 5 fans used
• infinite number of "I feel that" statements
• 3 times we heard Elton John's "Yellow Brick Road"
• 15 meals
• 4 ice cream trips
• lots of snacks to ensure that Chris didn't eat Amy
  
• 2 times Chris bit himself
  
• 0 times Chris bit Amy (success!)
• 1 personal stick of butter
  

We really did have a great time, and it was so pleasant to make our itinerary as we went. Our planned spontaneous road trip was just the thing I needed before school starts again!