Looking back over the past eleven years and all the travel Jeff and I have done together, our road trips stand out as some of the most unforgettable experiences. I also love flying—hello Grenada, Europe, the U.S. Virgin Islands—and those trips have been special. Still, road trips have a uniquely intimate feeling for me. They’ve become bookmarks in our life together: each journey marking a different moment in our relationship and family life, especially since we’ve often brought our pets along.
One memorable example was our first cross-country trip four years ago when we moved to Seattle with our dog Luna and our cat Nuggs (who has since passed away—this was before Franz and Gertie joined us). We saw stretches of the country I’d never experienced before: the Rocky Mountains, Mount Rushmore, and so much more.
That trip also taught me a few practical things about Jeff and myself. Jeff discovered he really doesn’t enjoy narrow two-lane roads, and I learned how important it is for me to eat breakfast within an hour of waking if anyone around me wants a pleasant morning (kidding… sort of). Spending so many hours together in a car—14-hour days in a rolling box—surfaces details about each other that short weekend getaways often don’t. After seven years together, we still found new things to learn.
So yes, I have a soft spot for road trips.
Which brings me to why I’m writing about this now: we just took another one. It had been a while since our last car adventure, so we planned an impromptu road trip last weekend—literally choosing our destination an hour before we left—to escape the city for a few days and explore somewhere new. We ended up in Asheville, North Carolina, with several fun pit stops along the way.
I partnered with Capital One’s Auto Navigator® site, a one-stop resource for finding and financing a car—for road tripping and everyday life—to share some milestone moments tied to our car and to encourage you to find a vehicle that fits life’s inspiring (and uninspiring) moments.
I’ll share the full Asheville trip in part two of this post later this month, but here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming.
If you’re in the market for a vehicle for road trips, daily driving, or anything in between, check out Capital One’s Auto Navigator® site. It lets you search for cars and handle financing all in one place, from home. When you’re ready to buy, you can have financing prearranged. The site estimates monthly payments and APRs for cars you select, helping you plan ahead. Start browsing to get a feel for the options and what your payments might look like.
I honestly wish I’d known about this tool when we bought our most recent car; it would have saved us time and stress at the dealership, especially the long waits for paperwork and financing.
So what do you think—are you a fan of road trips or not? What has been your most memorable road trip, for better or worse? I’d love to hear about your adventures.
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This post is in partnership with Capital One Auto Navigator®. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.