Road Trippin'

As you read this, I'm packing up onward for Nevada to embark on the still-weird-to-me fact that my sister's having a wedding.  It's not my first road trip with my fancy-schmancy new ride (the Tuolumne trip took that one), but it IS the first time visiting the folks without the Beetle.  (I look upon the broken car door handle memorialize in my apartment and internally weep for my old friend.)

Anyways, my drive is four and a half to six hours factoring in one measly accident delaying me on a Sunday afternoon on I-80 or a backup towards the Bay Bridge on a weekday afternoon which always happens in both cases.  Through all the mindless weaving and turning and sometimes creeping that is my usual route, there are a few things I like to do to pass the time:

• Sing along to my iPod, the radio, CD's, or nothing at all because there's always at least one song stuck in my head.  It's the only place I feel comfortable screaming at the top of my lungs since there's nobody around to get annoyed by me but myself (which happens often anyway).

• Suffer through my stuffy car between the not-exactly-drastic climate changes of Palo Alto and Carson City.  If one is hot when I leave, the other will be cool when I get there and my car will have turned from chilly to muggy even thought it has stayed the EXACT SAME temperature the entire drive.

• License plate and/or sign alphabet games.  Sometimes I'll go from A to Z or backwards, or just signs, or just plates, or whatever has letters on it.  These games must be completed at least once by the time I reach my destination or life just feels pointless.

• Go through as many excuses possible to tell myself that I deserve all the do-dads and unnecessary clothing I'm going to end up purchasing during my visit.  A trip to anywhere near Reno is just incomplete without my presence gracing the Oddie Blvd strip of thrift stores.  Thrifting in Nevada is a hobby that will never die.

• Unsuccessfully pop my ears from the pressure change which depending on the direction I go causes headaches for days or a CRAZY HEAD EXPLOSION of pressure when least expected.  Guess which direction goes with which experience.

• Greet the California and Nevada signs while simultaneously bidding adieu to the other.  It's usually "Bye, Cali see ya later HELLOOOOOOO NEVADA!" and "It was nice seeing ya Nevada, I MISSED YOU CALIFORNIA!  Where's my hug?"

• Experience a few mini panic attacks in relation to my apartment and kitty back at my place.  Did I forget to close the window?  I brought everything I need, right?  Did I leave enough kitty food?  What if I'm burlarized?  OH GOD THE PILOT LIGHT.

• Munch on something crunky, salty, and crumbly that is easy to drive with but not easy to stay neat in any way.  Licked fingers and specks of chips down my shirt?  Yes.

How do you spend road trips by yourself?  Do you drive yourself nuts like me?  What's your favorite road trip time-passer?  Let me know in the comments.