“Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” is a classic film from 1987, directed by John Hughes (“Breakfast Club” “Uncle Buck” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) starring John Candy and Steve Martin as a star-crossed pair of travelers. One man’s delight is another’s undoing in this tale of the terrors, miscalculations, dangers and ticking bombs that undergird travel.
This summer I spent a significant amount of time traveling on my own, something I had rarely done before. I flew to and from London, took a ferry to Connecticut, rode the Amtrak and got my driver’s license. My entire life I have loved to travel, and someone else always did the planning, the paying and the guiding. This summer I experienced a newer, more chaotic, side of travel, one that you don’t often see with your family. I was often alone, I often miscalculated, and when I wasn’t alone I was in the company of equally inexperienced travelers.
Lesson 1: Stay where you are and Trust No one. After spending the first two weeks of July at a program in England, my friends and I were finally at the airport, London Heathrow, on our way home. We had arrived nearly four hours before our flight, and after security, we took a short train ride to our gate. We had no idea how much trouble that ten-minute train ride would cause. “Guys, I’m hungry,” my friend Will declared nearly five minutes after sitting down at the gate. After Will assured us there was no food near our gate, my friend Emily and I began our journey by getting back on the train. 20 minutes and two back-and-forth train trips later, we were standing at the top of a staircase with no clue where we were. We approached four different adults, all of whom told us we needed to follow signs to security. “But we already went through security,” we repeated multiple times to no avail. They all pointed us in the same direction. After four train rides and two trips through security, with three iced coffees in hand, we trudged back to the gate where Will and our other friends sat comfortably drinking the Starbucks they had found two minutes from our gate with no understanding of the ordeal we had just been through. Although our hunt for food turned into a bit of a wild ride, it was an unforgettable part of our trip. Suggestion: Pack a sandwich in advance.
Lesson 2: Go Light. Never carry something that weighs more than you. This August, I took the Cross Sound Ferry and Amtrak train from Montauk to Boston to visit my friend. The Cross Sound Ferry takes passengers from Montauk to New London, Connecticut in just 90 minutes. My first ferry trip included such highlights as struggling to carry my suitcase up too many stairs, watching it roll away down the deck and listening to two elderly women tell their children’s birth stories. On my trip home, from Boston, it was pouring rain and as I sat outside on the deck a minor flood occurred, threatening to roll my suitcase down the stairs I had worked so hard to drag it up.
Lesson 3: Same Trip. When in doubt, run faster or throw away your baggage. After the ferry, I took the Amtrak from New London to Boston. I have always loved trains but before this summer I had never ridden one alone. About a minute before the train arrived, I realized I was on the wrong side and needed to cross the tracks. After hurriedly boarding the train, I attempted to get my suitcase on the rack above the seats. Pro tip: don’t try this alone when the aisle is narrow and there are 20 impatient people waiting to sit down. I wanted to fall asleep that entire train ride, but stress about missing my stop kept my eyes open. Four days later I was on the way home when my train was delayed because of the rain. By the time it arrived at the station, my ferry was about to leave. I took my suitcase and ran, in the pouring rain, alongside a college student in a Northeastern t-shirt. We ended up talking as we ran to the ferry, and luckily our running paid off. We arrived just before the ferry left.
Lesson 4: A driver’s license is a good thing. Perhaps a car you can drive is better than a plane or a train you can’t control. August 3rd: the fateful day I was signed up to take my road test. Throughout June and a good chunk of July, I logged countless hours driving my parents and sister around to practice before the test. I parallel parked around the corner from CVS, took my dad to the hardware store about 40 times and drove my sister to the doctor’s office. While I wasn’t exactly flying solo, it was a new step of independence for me and somehow, I managed to pass the test (although I did park too far from the curb).
These somewhat chaotic travel experiences granted me a newfound sense of independence over the summer, teaching me many lessons and leaving with me dozens of memories that I’ll carry with me forever. When you are on the road, and everything is going wrong, sometimes, just sometimes, you’ll find yourself to be incredibly resourceful. And you did it all by yourself.
