“You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?”

I’m glad this is one of the WordPress writing prompts, because I recently took a road trip for work. So this prompt is basically perfect timing. And honestly, nowadays, car seems like the best option, in my opinion.

That being said, let me tell you more about the trip. It all started about a month ago.

I currently work for the autonomous division of a major Japanese automaker. They do both autonomous and normal data collection. Data collection is where you drive a vehicle with cameras, LiDARs, and computers connected to it on assigned routes, making sure that the computers are logging data properly. The car companies essentially use this data to make all their automatic driving features—like adaptive cruise control, etc.—function better. The company I work for uses this data to improve their autonomous software. However, in order to do the autonomous testing, you have to get a specific certification called a Middle Class license, which you get by passing a driver evaluation. (Think of it like the license trials in Gran Turismo.) And the only way to do the driver eval is to go to their proving grounds…in Arizona.

Because I’m just a contractor, the company doesn’t pay for the trip, the contract company does. You can either have them pay for all the accommodations—which means you get the cheap version of everything (flight, hotels, rental car…IF you even get a rental car)—or you can pay for everything yourself and expense it to them. Not only did I opt for the latter—I had enough money saved up and I didn’t trust them to do the booking because, as I said, they go cheap on everything—but I also opted to drive.

That’s right. I decided to drive from Michigan to Arizona. All 2,000 miles of it.

Why, you ask? Well, to be honest, I hate flying. I’ve always hated it. And the last time I flew, it was…not a great experience, to put it mildly. Plus, I had a few paychecks saved up, so I decided, why not? It helped that my boss said he would approve literally anything I expense to the company—within reason, of course. (Even though the contract company gets the expense, my boss still has to approve it first.) So I told them I’d pay for the rental car and the hotels between Michigan and Arizona. All they had to pay for was the Arizona hotel (because Arizona hotels are HELLA expensive). So, I booked the rental car and hotels a week in advance. But things went wrong pretty much from the start.

When I told my mom about this trip, she wanted to know how I would be able to give her the personal car—because, as I’ve shared on here before, we currently share a car. So my plan was to pick her up in the morning and we could go to the rental car place, which was located inside the Flint airport, then I would leave for the trip immediately after, so that I could get a decent start on the road. That was the plan, anyway.

Here’s what happened:

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DAY 1: MICHIGAN TO MISSOURI

9:30 AM: Picked up my mom. This was the easy part.
10:01 AM: Arrived at Flint airport. Also easy, since it was just a straight shot up I-75.
10:01-10:25 AM: Drove in circles, looking for the rental car place. The GPS waypoint was essentially way off from the airport terminal, so I didn’t even know that the rental car counter was inside said terminal. I’m used to rental car counters at airports being sectioned off from the rest of the airport—that’s how Detroit Metro does it.
10:35 AM: I walked into the airport and found the rental car counter. When I attempted to pay for my rental, the clerk informed me that, sorry, we don’t take debit cards, just credit. Shit. Fortunately, he also told me that any of the company’s other locations that aren’t located in airports will take debit. Thank goodness.
10:40 AM: While still in the Bishop parking lot, I called another location—turns out, there was one 5 minutes away from my mom’s place (why did we drive all the way out to the Flint location again?). They had a rental! And gave me a shit-ton of discounts cuz I’m a rewards member! They told me it’d be ready at 11:15. Nice!
11:05 AM: Halfway there, rental place called me and informed me that, sorry, we won’t have any cars available until 3 PM. Fuck.
3:05 PM: Picked up the rental. It’s a ’25 Nissan Rogue*. I had originally asked for a midsize sedan, but they gave me a free upgrade to a midsize SUV. (Mom joked that they probably gave it to me because they didn’t have any sedans. Lol, seems legit.)
3:15 PM: Said goodbye to mom and now I’m FINALLY on the road!
5:51 PM: Drove US-24 W in Indiana, ended up in a blizzard. Like, visibility-less-than-five-feet blizzard. And the giant wind gusts just made things worse. I knew it was bad because in the median, I saw a semi that had jackknifed and hit a guardrail. Luckily, on Indiana highways, the shoulders and median are wide, so even though the semi jackknifed, it didn’t block traffic.
12:30 AM: FINALLY MADE IT…to Columbia, MO! Completely exhausted and spent, I checked in to the hotel and instantly fell asleep. What a day.

* The Rogue is actually pretty nice! Hella roomy, comfy seats, and decent stereo. The engine seems a bit underpowered at times, the lane-centering has a habit of “ping-ponging“ in the lane, and CarPlay doesn’t work, but other than that, I’m impressed. I’d give it a 7/10.

DAY 2: MISSOURI TO TEXAS

7:30 AM: Checked out of the Missouri hotel. Was actually pretty decent. 3.5/5 stars.
8:30 AM: CARPLAY FINALLY WORKS!!! I guess the car just needed to stay off for a while.
10:30 AM: Saw the aftermath of a rollover crash on I-44 W. It looked like a car hit a car hauler, then one of the cars ended up on its side. Paramedics etc. were already on the scene by the time I drove past it. It’s always tough seeing crashes on the roads, but you have to keep moving. It’s simply a part of the drive, sadly.
11:30-11:50 AM: Stopped for lunch in Joplin, MO. Nothing special, just some Wendy’s, since I hadn’t had it in a while. I don’t know when they got chicken tenders, but wow, they were actually really good!
12:55 PM: Pulled over at a rest area in Claremore, OK. Got tired out of nowhere. (Pretty sure it was the itis.)
3:48 PM: Wind turbines!!! Saw some on I-40 W. Sadly, I couldn’t get a picture of them myself–a lot of these states are hella strict about phone stuff while driving (as they should be).
4:46 PM: On The Radio – Norah Jones Is Playing Along
One of my favorite podcasts is Norah Jones Is Playing Along. Norah Jones interviews fellow musicians and then improvises music with them. It’s super interesting. This episode was with Lady Wray and she went really in depth into her background, including her relationship with Missy Elliott. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a music fan.
6:45 PM: FINALLY MADE IT…to Amarillo, TX! My Texas hotel is inn-style, so I probably won’t like it. A hotel with an open courtyard and an L-shaped building where I have to walk in a half-circle just to get to my room door? No thanks.

DAY 3: TEXAS TO ARIZONA

5:45 AM: Checked out of Texas hotel. As I suspected, I hated it. Bed was squeaky as hell and the walls were paper-thin so I heard everything that my neighbors were doing. 2/5 stars.
6:15 AM: Ah yes, the infamous IH-40 manure/livestock smell. I can never unsmell it. Even with the recirculation on in my car, I STILL smelled it. Yuck.
9:10 AM: Further down I-40 W, I spotted a hitchhiker. People still do that, apparently. Wild.
9:18 AM: In the opposite direction (I-40 E), I saw the aftermath of what looked like a semi trailer that exploded (!!!). Traffic was backed up for miles. Police, etc. had just started showing up by the time I was driving past the scene. I don’t have a pic of it, unfortunately. (This is gonna be a recurring theme. I’m not really a picture guy, especially when I’m driving.)
10:18 AM: On The Radio: The Whispers – (Olivia) Lost and Turned Out
I love this song. My first time hearing it was after finding out that Curren$y–one of my favorite rappers–sampled it. It also reminds me of a woman I used to know. That’s a story for another time.
3:37 PM: FINALLY MADE IT TO ARIZONA!!! As I pulled up to the hotel, my ears finally popped. That’s when I knew I had officially made it. (Those winding highways on the way in are no joke.)

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So, did I learn anything? Well, I learned that driving can be better than flying, as long as you plan properly. And crashes are, sadly, an unavoidable part of being on the roads. As long as it doesn’t happen to you, all you can do is keep moving. Also, drink lots of water. It helped me out a lot.

In Vol. 2, I’ll talk about my experiences at the Proving Grounds.

Thanks for reading.

Song of the Day: Lice (Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman) – Who Sent You?

Best cover art I’ve seen this year (so far). Their new album is great too.