My Contrast When Traveling: Flying vs. Driving

Traveling is one of my favourite activities in life. Some of my best memories are made whenever I’m in a place far away from what I’m used to. It’s about time I’ve done a traveling post, where I talk about my own fool-proof traveling routine. When traveling, I usually fly, but I do still very much enjoy long road trips. I like to be in control over whatever is possible when I travel. I’m rarely ever relaxed; I’m usually always the most anxious whenever I’m traveling and that is something I’d like to work on. However, I do follow a very strict routine each time I do travel, depending on how I travel. In this blog, I’m going to be talking about my own personal contrast with flying vs. driving.


Photo by Viktor Avdeev

My routine for travel is far stricter whenever I fly. This way of traveling does give me the most anxiety, although it’s technically the safest form of travel. When flying, I always have to make sure I’m beyond early when getting to the airport. I have plenty of things to keep me distracted until my flight, as long as I’m physically where I need to be. I prefer morning flights over evening flights. Although it is busier in the mornings, everyone else seems to be on their game and everything seems to flow much more smoothly in the morning. If my flight is at eight or nine in the morning, I’m usually up and moving around by four. I usually leave my car at a family member of friend’s house with the keys, because I don’t mind the people I trust using my car if needed while I’m away- I certainly won’t be! I always order my Uber while I’m getting situated with my car, so that it’s a smooth transition straight to the airport. I tried using Lyft several times in college, and have had some horrifying experiences with drivers, so I just always use Uber. As mentioned before in previous posts, I do prefer silence over “small talk”. Thankfully, Uber has a new update on their app where you can let your driver know ahead of time whether you prefer conversation or not, although it’s up to the driver themselves to honor this! After withstanding about thirty minutes of rush-hour traffic, it’s grind time.


Photo by Filip V.

Now surprisingly, I’m not a very nice person whenever I fly. I’m very high maintenance and become impatient much more quickly than usual. I personally prefer to upgrade my flight way beforehand to make sure I’m one of the first people to board the plane, because it does take me quite a while to get settled. Charging my wireless earbuds the day before is a MUST. I like to make sure the earbuds case is fully charged along with the earbuds for a longer playtime. I go ahead and download all of my current favourite playlists and albums ahead of time, so that they’re ready to go once I get to the airport. My unfavourable attitude at the airport may partially be due to always having to fly out of Nashville’s BNA airport. Nashville’s airport is my all-time least favourite airport for a plethora of reasons. As soon as I check in my suitcases and get through TSA security, my earbuds are in until the plane lands. Whenever I’m flying, I seem to have some sort of tunnel vision and my senses are overloaded by all of the sounds, people, and places on the way to the gate. I move very quickly, and I never sit down until I’m at the designated gate. When it comes to music choice, I usually listen to rap/trap music. Whenever I’m in public, I feel as though I have a hundred judgemental eyes on me, and trap music is a temporary confidence buffer for me.


Photo by Jason Jarrach

I’m extremely picky about choosing what to eat whenever I’m at the airport. I will never eat a full meal when traveling. I stick to mainly snacks, potatoes, or bread when it comes to food. I don’t like to experiment or try new things at the airport, because I want to feel comfortable during the flight. Some of the things I catch myself getting are fries, potato chips, or small croissants or sandwiches. As someone who drinks coffee and tea daily, I never drink coffee at the airport. I’ve done it once, and it skyrocketed my anxiety, so I opted to not drink coffee until after the flight. I’ve never gotten sick or felt ill on a plane, but I still have mental precautions I take to ensure I feel comfortable the entire time. I always grab a water, Perrier, and ginger ale from one of the shops on my way to the gate. I always have to have some sort of carbonated beverage near me, even when I’m not traveling. Many times, I don’t have to touch the drink, but rather having it in my vicinity is calming. I always bring my laptop and iPad in case I feel like writing or playing a game. I’m very socially avoidant, so there have been times where I’ve opened up my laptop just to look busy. I enjoy doing my book of Harry Potter word searches, (it has about 300 I believe). I like to continue reading whatever novel I’m currently on or checking my social media for once. When I’m on the plane, I just close my eyes and listen to music. Very rarely, I read, but I’m usually lost in my own world before the plane takes off.


Photo by Casey Horner

Thankfully, I’m much more fun on road trips. I prefer driving and most of my road trips are solo. Similar to flying, I have playlists ready, but I listen to many different genres depending on my mood throughout the trip. My favorite drive is from Pittsburgh to Nashville. It’s a very scenic drive through Colombus, Cincinnati, and Louisville. It’s almost a straight drive through I-70 and I-65 with a couple of quick exits that are easy to miss. I always start my road trips off with coffee; usually Starbucks because it’s right next to the interstate. I use the Waze app when I travel. I really like the real-time updates on the app and how it tells you exactly where all the state troopers are hiding. I normally only stop during roads trips when I need to refuel on gas. There are certain exits that I prefer to stop at, due to safety and/or food options. I try to memorize different ones I enjoy so that I can stop there again on the way back. During my road trips, I do eat a little more. I never eat until I’m full, but I also don’t just snack during the whole trip. Whenever I stop for gas, I usually stop to grab fries and chicken tenders from somewhere; it all depends on what I’m in the mood for. Again, I do like to grab something carbonated to have next to me during the road trip. I’m far less concerned about choosing what to eat during solo road trips.


Photo by Anete Lusina

I have a few traditions that I have to do on every solo road trip. I have to perform the entire Coachella: Homecoming album by Beyonce all the way through, without skipping any song, at least once on every road trip. I normally take calls during road trips; they can just play through my car automatically without me having to look down at my phone for very long. My favourite thing about solo road trips, is being able to control the pace of the trip. I don’t feel rushed or held back by anything except for basic physics. It’s freeing to know that I can stop at any time if I need to or keep going for however long I want to. I don’t mind talking to people at the rest stops along the way. A lot of times, it’s the most human contact that I have for seven to nine hours, so I don’t mind “small talk”. I like to take in all of the different cities I drive through along the way. Cities are all very similar but also very distinct from one another. I enjoy observing how people drive in different cities and how different the roads and signs may be. I’m far more open and relaxed during road trips, although they can be extremely tiring and draining. I prefer flying over driving because it is safer overall. I’ve been to some amazing places in my life and hope to visit so many more in the future. This was a very fun article for me to write and I hope it was fun for you to read! It was interesting to compare my tendencies and behavior between flying vs. driving!


Thank you for taking the time to read this blog article! Be sure to leave a comment, like, and share this content if you enjoyed reading! Please tell me what you would like to see next in the comments as well!

Love,

—H.DENAË

Photo by Rana Sawalha