I love road trips. Honestly, I don’t even know why – I get terribly car sick, so it’s not exactly logical for me to want to spend time in the car, and I’ll often avoid trips into town for this same reason. But for some reason, turn that into a fantastic adventure, and I’m definitely on board.

I don’t drive, so I really don’t have the opportunity to go on solo road trips. I mean, I’ve gone on adventures by plane, train, and bus, but that’s not the same, really. Most of the time I travel, it’s either with my family, or with my girlfriend (when I have one). It seems like I always have this idea that things are going to be… I don’t know, different this time, and usually that’s not actually the case.

What do you expect when traveling with your girlfriend – and what do you actually get?

The waiting is excruciating.

If you’ve been planning the trip for a while, you’re going to be super excited about it – possibly even borderline crazy about it. This doesn’t really seem to change, no matter how many trips you’ve gone on together. It’s just going to be you and your boo in a car for however many hours – how great is that!

You’ll help each other pack.

You know that your girlfriend usually forgets her phone charger, so you pack an extra one just in case. Your girlfriend also knows that you go a little nuts if you forget to bring a book – so she reminds you to charge your Kindle before you leave. (Seriously, though, if you don’t have a Kindle, you should get one, they’re incredible and I love mine.)

Your apprehensions will start to surface.

I get panic attacks on the train, and I’m obsessively aware of my surroundings when I’m in a car. I’d probably be a great driver if I wasn’t so afraid I’d screw it up. If you’re afraid of flying, this is going to come out right when you’re about to leave for the airport. Especially for the anxious among us, the time right before the trip is pretty much the scariest part.

Hotels are like a free pass to party.

Even if you’re pretty mild in general, staying in a hotel means that you’re free to live it up and pretend you’re rich for just that short period of time. Just don’t forget – the convenience store down the road is going to be a zillion times cheaper than the mini-bar. Don’t party outside your means, guys, and don’t be the assholes that throw the TV out the window. They will definitely charge you for this.

Your real personality comes out when you’re lost.

For example, I go into Anxiety Overload when I’m lost. My partner instantly worries about running out of gas, while I’m feverishly trying to figure out how to make my GPS work like it’s supposed to. Thankfully, we usually get things sorted out right before I chuck my phone out the window.

You end up with some cool pictures.

Between the two of you and the modern age of technology, you’re bound to get some interesting shots on your little photo shoots. She’s going to want to take pictures of you, and you’re going to want to take pictures of her – and, of course, you’re going to try and find someone else to take some pictures of the two of you together. These memories are now permanently documented into the cloud. (You do upload your photos to a cloud server, right?)

You discover how the other reacts to new things.

Clam chowder bowls by the ocean? Check. Climbing a gorgeous green hill just because it’s there? Check. The two of you can motivate each other to try new things, and you get to assess how flexible the other person is – and, if you’re lucky, you might even pick up some new hobbies and interests.

You get super excited about souvenirs, until you plug them into your budget.

Do you really need that shot glass that costs as much as three gallons of gas? Probably not. Are you going to buy it anyway? Probably. After all, a million pictures aren’t enough to document the memories – you need your memories to exist in as many dimensions as possible, and it’s not like you can’t use the shot glass once you’ve bought it.

You will notice everything that’s wrong with her driving – seriously.

Chances are, you don’t spend more than a few minutes in the car together at a time, unless you’re going on a road trip. This is hardly enough time to process every time she forgets to use her turn signal, or when she’s speeding, or that she has terrible road rage. You’ll notice this within the first hour of your road trip, though, and it’s not likely to get better as the trip progresses.

You will bug the hell out of each other.

Any differences between the two of you will become super apparent when you’re stuck in the car together for a long time. Not only will your music tastes, comfortable temperatures, and even driving habits be put to the test, but chances are, one of you is going to be car-sleeping – which means the other one has to deal with your snoring, while also avoiding as many bumps and storm drains as possible. If they don’t dodge the bumps and drains, the one sleeping can be pretty cranky – leading them to stay awake and pay closer attention to your cheesy music, your cold thermostat settings, and that turn you missed when you were too busy arguing.

You’ll come up with some inside jokes.

You probably won’t even do it on purpose (because, let’s be honest, it doesn’t work if you’re trying too hard), but you’ll have some great jokes that you will laugh about for years and years, much to the confusion of anyone else around. But you don’t care, because inside jokes with your boo never get old.

You’ll make some great memories.

You probably won’t remember the bad things about your trip, unless you and your girlfriend happen to break up while you’re away. But you will remember the fun times you had, how funny it was when you had to stop on the side of the road to pee, and the song you heard on the radio enough times to be your song now. You’ll cherish those memories forever, even if something happens to the two of you.

When it’s all said and done, you’re going to want to do it again. Eventually.

Have you ever had one of those vacations where it feels like you need another vacation after you’re done? Traveling with your girlfriend is pretty much like that. Especially if the two of you don’t live together, chances are you haven’t spent that much time together all at once before, and it can be a lot to get used to. Sure, you’ll love it, as a whole, but you’re going to want to space those road trips out. The headaches will be there, and you’ve got to wait until you forget the lame parts before you can fully appreciate the great parts.

But eventually, you will go on another road trip with her – and it’s going to be much the same as the first one, but this time, you’re more prepared what to expect. Each time, the “recovery” time will take a little less, until one day you realize that you’d be happy to live out on the road with her. But for now, you’re happy to save the gas money and live in an actual house.

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