Editor’s Note: The road is calling. As My Place Hotels of America prepares readers to meet Road Trip Revival, an interactive campaign designed for explorers like you, a road warrior of our own reflects on the ways of the road.
Despite what many might think, Americans haven’t cancelled their travel plans so much as they’ve changed them. According to a survey taken by the U.S. Travel Association, 68% of respondents feel safest traveling in their cars. Additionally, “one-third of all travelers are willing to drive 300 miles to reach a destination, and 19% of Americans were willing to drive 500 miles.”
More surprisingly, as reported by AdWeek, these figures are “actually up from 2019, when just 24% of travelers reported driving at least 300 miles to reach a destination.”
Which leads me to posit what I call the divine truth about travel: so long as we have a need to explore, connect, and to experience that connection first-hand, we will travel.
Odes to the Road
Suppose that love, connection, and the lack of either necessity inspired most of the songs and works of art created over the past century. How many of them would include the mention of travel?
Many, many, more than we realize, I think. But, rather than presenting you with empirical evidence to make this point, I’m going to offer reflections from a few of America’s renowned… and more restless road warriors.
“And our way is on the road again
Willie Nelson. Honeysuckle Rose. Columbia, 1980.
I just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again”
Whether the title of this post recalled a memory of Willie Nelson’s voice or the famous words of Jack Kerouac, both have created iconic odes to the road. And both capture the magic of travel, a journey where the souls we encounter live many lives through the stories we tell and the snapshots we take.
“I realized these were all the snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, our actual night, the hell of it, the senseless emptiness.”
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Yes, for as much as travel is romanticized, it’s rarely as glamorous as it appears. With all the “road hard” eyes that my own have met in airports and elevators, I believe the only thing that separates us from “the senseless emptiness” Kerouac refers to is an ability to know what’s essential, and what to let go.
So what’s essential?
Or, what can’t we go without?
I suppose this is where your third road warrior comes in; not renowned, but otherwise restless–me.
Long before I learned that a career in hospitality was in store for me, my mother would say I was so good at leaving that I should “live in a hotel.”
Well, despite the undertone of that statement, much of my experience over the past five years indicates that much is possible.
Like many of you, I learned early on what I could go without, before learning what I can’t give up while traveling. As a novel explorer in my early twenties, decisions were based on value, and budgets broke every tie. But, at the end of the day, if my accommodations were clean and service was friendly, I was always prepared to do what I was there to do–#ExploreMore!
Which likely formed the basis of my initial attraction to My Place Hotels. When I began traveling for work with My Place years ago, I was so quick to appreciate the well-appointed, clean rooms, friendly service, and the value of receiving more than I needed at an affordable price point. And I’m far from alone in this reception as I’ve watched My Place grow from 20 to 56 brand new hotels across 27 states so far.
Despite the world turning topsy turvy over the past few months, our hampering need to travel can still be safely satisfied. As pent-up travelers are planning their summer outings, the team at My Place Hotels of America is prepared to assist with the launch of Road Trip Revival.
As an engaging series designed to help you plan for the ultimate road trips throughout each region of the United States, each post will feature routes marking must-see destinations and the nearby My Place Hotels that make for any road tripper’s ideal home base.
Prepare to meet uncertainty with confidence
So, in the face of all the “new” things I’ve encountered, the unknowable series of events, and sometimes serendipitous nature of travel, I’ve found that preparing to be present is most essential. This is most simply described as a process of reducing uncertainty. And at a time when the values of confidence, comfort, and security are necessary as ever, there’s really no place like My Place on the road.
As a company of travel enthusiasts, road warriors, and explorers alike, we’re really excited to share what we’ve learned as a resource to you throughout this summer of Road Trip Revival.
Subscribe to the blog to follow along, and remember to #ExploreMore!
Don’t just take our word for it!
“Adam and I were reminiscing about our “48 State Drive for Autism” last year. Not only did My Place blog about our trip, but we also were able to make My Place ‘Our Place’ several times. The beds were very comfortable, especially after a long day of driving. And the kitchenette was a dream for us road trippers. We look forward to being able to get out of the house, and continue to make My Place ‘Our Place’.”
Mike and Adam Straub, #48forAutism benefitting #AutismAction
