Find Friends That Road Trip

Growing up in Canada and in the rural parts of the Great White North, having a vehicle is important not only to get from one place to another but is needed if you ever want to see the country. Transit isn't always practical and trying to get out to the mountains without a ride can be a long and harrowing adventure all its' own. When I first began to drive my friends and I would pile into someones truck, usually mine, and just go out driving around the country side to go fishing, camping or just meet up with other friends further down the line. These trips instilled a very important lesson right away. If you want to see a place, you need to see it through your guides eyes on a road trip. Somebody who knows the area, the roads and the hidden gems that many of us don't have a chance to hear about on a typical wander.

This driving culture stuck with me on my way to University in the USA. My senior year I drove solo and was able to catch the beautiful rolling hills in Wisconsin, The North Dakota Badlands, Indiana's agriculture and heading off the mountains into Pennsylvania. One of the bigger road trips I took was with two of my roommates and teammates. We had a weekend off with no games, no tests or papers due and an empty Friday night with a class in the morning. The three of us were feeling a little stir crazy and wanted to get away and do something before we had to buckle down for the year. All we knew was this simple thing, we wanted to watch a high level hockey game. It didn't really matter the distance, we just wanted to get out there and see a new place. We hastily found a game and hopped in the car to make the trip to the most northern part of Pennsylvania, Erie. We headed out to catch the Erie Otters take on the London Knights of the OHL. The drive was long as we twisted through mountains and forest, music blared and jokes were shared throughout the drive. When we reached the city, our first stop was seeing the Great Lakes and appreciating the view and area. The wind whipped and the clouds turned grey, then black. The dark water sloshed and rolled in front of us. It was a moment where we stood silent and feeling the magnitude of nature in front of us. From there, we bar hopped, saw the different areas of the city centre before heading off to the arena. In a good space, enjoying a wonderful and long game of hockey it had lived up to everything we wanted. New place, close game and traveling with close friends. We spent the night in the car and headed out early to drive down to the state of Delaware.

My buddy, the driver, was born in the south but lived and raised in Dover, Delaware. For such a small state, there was a lot of history and stories that he shared with us. One of the first states and nations capital, remnants of a time long forgotten was scattered throughout the city as a reminder of the original settlers of the day. Having him as our guide shed a lot of light on the history of the state, the changes over his time living there and of course the places to go see and eat at. From dive bars, to small food stands it was an enjoyable stop on our way back to school. The images of skates cutting ice, neon signs and the smell of tacos, sandwiches and beer dancing in the halls of our minds.

Seven Years Later

Fast forward seven years later, I find myself in the country of Denmark and wanting to see more of the country. Now, many Danes will undersell their country because of the Law of Janteloven. That being said, Denmark may not have mountain ranges but they have many forests, lakes and ocean views that are more than worthwhile seeing. My friend, a world traveler, extended an invitation to take me to a place I would never have thought of exploring. She picked me up in her mom's car, Caamp blasting on the radio, her smile radiating as she fiddled with the GPS. It was a surreal experience, sweaters on, jackets ready heading up the road north towards an unknown destination. Conversation twisted and changed like the landscape outside my window, flat farmland to forest to sand dunes stretching upward. When we arrived the first sign that I saw was Skagen, The Tip of Denmark. She had taken me all the way North to see the place where the two main bodies of water collided, the deep blue of the North sea mixing with the waters of the Baltic. As we strolled upon the white sand beaches, the wind bit and howled reminding us that we were alive and on an adventure. We strolled towards the furthest corner of the beach to a small strip of sand that extended out into the water where. On the way, I couldn't help but stick my water in the ice cold water and admire the view of the surrounding area. In that moment, I realized why poets and painters traveled to this part of the world, attempting to capture the beauty of the light and water spread out before them.

Without min vend, my friend, and a car seeing this unique part of Denmark would have never happened, exploring the yellow buildings of Skagen would have been something only seen on Instagram. Locals with vehicles will take you to places they enjoyed and pieces of their country that means something to them. You will learn more about the culture, the country and create a solid friendship by allowing them to show you their world through their eyes. During the drives, local snacks, music tastes and conversations about everything deep and mundane will be thrown out. It sheds a light on so many aspects that you may not find taking transit or walking around the city streets while people move to and fro. In a way, you can share your home with them through stories and they are more luckily to be your local tour guide. If you let them know what you want to see, for example, nature. They will take you to some places everyone needs to see but also to small deserts in Denmark which are less known.

Road trips are the way to travel and explore home and abroad when the opportunity presents itself. What is your next road trip?

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