10 Minutes with Danielle: Surviving My Solo Road Trip from GA to NYC

I’ve been driving since I was 16 and as someone who grew up and learned how to drive in this lovely city of New York, I feel like I’ve been groomed for just about anything when it comes to driving. You have to drive differently when you breeze through Manhattan and there’s nothing like rush hour traffic in NYC—I know because I’d be stuck in it EVERYDAY driving to and from work where I had to pass both JFK and LGA traffic to get to my old 9 to 5. So I figured, I could totally do a drive from NYC to where my family lives in Acworth, GA for the holidays—of course splitting the drive up by staying overnight at a halfway point in VA.

I typically just book a flight and rent a car whenever I go to GA, but usually for the holidays I tend to stay longer and rental car prices for say a 3-week rental plus a flight equaled money I’d rather keep in my savings account (or let’s be real, on clothes and shoes). So I said I’d drive despite my sister saying when she and her family drove up she HATED it…lol. And that was with her husband sharing in the driving. But they did the 14 hour drive without stopping (aside from gas and food) so I figured I could do it.

And I did!

Driving down I had my niece who lives in NYC with me so I had company. My dad who does the drive often instructed us to leave at 4 A.M. because we’d get plenty of lead way on the road. It’s SUPER scary driving at that hour especially along I-81 in places like PA, WV, and VA. Speaking of—from when I was looking for the best route, it was advised OVER and OVER to avoid 95 namely because of traffic in DC. So I did the Holland Tunnel to 78-W to 81-S to 40-W to 75-S.

The drive wasn’t that bad at all! Oh wait—there was the threat of a really bad ice storm which made us have to decide between staying in Roanoke, VA or just keeping on our way. We decided to keep on our way and thank goodness we did at that exact time because we narrowly missed a bad storm and having to stay in VA for a few days.

My niece only stayed in GA for a week so I was on my own for the drive back. I was supposed to leave on 12/28, but my family asked me to stay through the New Year so I figured what’s an extra week (I work from home so all I need is my computer and an internet connection). But then when I was getting ready to leave the next week, here comes HERCULES. So I was stuck another week since I figured it was best to do the drive on the weekend because I HATE weekday traffic. And then came the deep freeze which threatened ice and all sorts of icky situations, so I got stuck again. Then when I was finally able to leave, a tornado watch was called in Acworth the morning of so I stayed another day…lol. I finally got to leave this passed Sunday morning.

Driving long distance by yourself can be rewarding and also scary as hell, See, I have an overactive imagination and think of things like the zombie apocalypse going down and getting me (I watched seasons 1-3 and season 4 up until the winter break of The Walking Dead and it being set in Georgia did not help me ANY) or some serial killer plowing me down on the road—I mean, I drive myself crazy sometimes.

But it was great—I listened to most of Gone Girl (omg—such a great book) on Audible through my iPhone 5S and a $14 speaker device that works through my radio. I’d get static sometimes and would need to change the station, but it did the job. I also listened to Beyoncé’s new album a couple of times. I think keeping your brain constantly stimulated helps to cure some of the boredom that can set in after a few hours.

I also made use of the Foursquare app because, as I said already, I have a VERY active imagination and checked in every time I reached a state line or made a stop to get gas. I figured if I get abducted or killed, everyone would have a map of where I went and be able to find me tied up to a cow somewhere if that were to happen.

I think the biggest thing that made my trip more bearable was stopping overnight. I stayed at the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham in Harrisonburg, VA both ways. It was nice and quaint—the staff was really friendly and on my way back I stayed in a queen suite and it was SO cute.

And then because we’re all about the fashion and beauty, what does one wear for a road trip?

Beauty

I went makeup-less because for one, leaving at 4 A.M. who wants to put makeup on and two, I’d be driving for so long that my skin would inevitably get really oily and who has time to touch-up makeup on the road. But if you’re the passenger and some handsome, burly guy is the driver and you want to look cute, a BB or CC cream (click on the links to see my reviews on a bunch) is perfect because they combine skincare and coverage all in one and in one easy step. A little liner (my fave is Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Perversion), mascara, blush, and lip color and you’re good to go.

You’ll also need to slather on sunscreen every two hours since you’ll be exposed to direct sunlight on your drive. Don’t neglect this! You’ll see my faves and more skincare tips in my Sun Care category.

For hair I kept mine in braids under a satin bonnet topped with a hat. I didn’t want my hair to dry out from the heat inside my car. When choosing styles make sure you do something that doesn’t put tension on your hair and keep a silk or satin scarf handy so the seat doesn’t suck all the moisture out of your tresses.

Fashion

I went for comfort so I wore a sweatshirt with a t-shirt underneath (I could take the sweatshirt off if I got hot) and jeans and sneakers. I made sure to wear a super soft sports bra because um, ain’t nobody trying to have the girls all restricted on a long drive.

If you want to look cute, reach for fitted sweats that look more like an outfit than they do sweats. If it’s warm enough try a flowy sundress. You want non-restrictive clothing made of breathable fabrics.

More Style&co….

So my trip coming back by myself went mostly without any drama—I used the Waze app which alerted me about a serious accident on I-81. Waze works as sort of a social network for drivers and relies on people to report accidents, police activity, best routes and more for it to work well. I kinda wish it was less hands-on—if you’re driving you can’t keep touching your phone to look for traffic info—even if you have the phone mounted on your dashboard. Like I’d love for it to yell out “Traffic coming” or something instead of me having to check the app for it.

My two “problems” on the road: I got a speeding ticket in VA on the way down—this is before I downloaded the Waze app. I was going 80 in a 70 zone and thankfully not a mile above that or I’d be faced with a reckless driving offense. Speeding in VA is NO joke and while I was googling around to find info I saw that tons of people get into serious incidents with speeding because the laws are so strict in Virginia. I wound up paying a lawyer to help dismiss the ticket for me, but it’s best to avoid speeding altogether. It’s tough because EVERYONE before and after I got that ticket breezed ahead of me when I was doing 70, but of course I’m the joker who gets pulled over.

My second problem: even after driving by myself without incident through GA, TN, VA, WV, MD, PA, and NJ, of course I get to NYC and traffic was off the chain on the BQE and the Van Wyck. Then while getting off at Flushing Meadows Park to avoid the deadlock on the Van Wyck, I must have driven over some sort of rock because I went to turn onto Main St. and heard my tire go flat. OF COURSE when I was just 20 minutes from home. My dad had to come and help scoop me up. Thankfully I was able to pull over somewhere safe and thankfully it happened so close to home, but at that point I was so tired and over driving that I cried over the flat…lol. (Note to self: time to learn how to change your tires). But thankfully I had taken my car to Midas before each trip to make sure it was ready for the road.

My dad putting my spare tire on

So overall, great experience and glad I did it—but I probably won’t be driving to GA again. At one point I wanted to ship my car back and just fly back home, but I took my iMac with me and was nervous about how I’d get it home on an airplane so I decided to just drive (I may also need to get a MacBook). I’d definitely do more road trips—I’ve driven by myself to parts of DC and MD and have taken road trips with friends to PA, MA, southern NJ, etc. In fact I have a few planned for this year ;)

Do you go on road trips? What was your experience? Tell me in the comments!