by
Rachel L. Miller
Know
how to use your car's personal assistance options.
One in three female drivers feel uncomfortable driving alone. If your car has
OnStar (or a similar service),
you're a lucky soul. The friendly operators can easily help you if you get lost
while traversing the country. They can assist you with other matters, too -- OnStar,
for example, allows you to make and receive calls in your vehicle with a fully
integrated, hands-free, wireless phone that uses voice-activated commands. So
make sure to read up on all the benefits your particular service before you hit
the road!
That
said, it was time to hit the road. I was completely excited about beginning my
adventure that I left right after work on a Wednesday. Which leads me to my first
piece of advice about the actual road trip: Try
to avoid driving during peak hours. Leaving at 7 a.m. or 5 p.m. on a workday
-- not so smart. I sat in Detroit's traffic for an extra hour or two, not a good
thing when you want to get as many miles under your belt in the shortest amount
of time. And the traffic (in addition to miles of orange construction barrels)
quickly put a damper on my excitement.
But
eventually I made it out of the city, past the Ohio border and into the most boring
stretch of road imaginable -- three hours of nothing but Ohio farm country. It
also meant a small selection of radio stations, which unless you're fond of static-enshrouded
Barbara Streisand (and I am not), it's good to: - Have
a decent number of good CDs stocked in the car. I had a CD for every mood,
every environment -- hell, every mile. Burn a few mix CDs before you leave, ones
that you know will keep the excitement flowing. The Subaru's six-CD changer was
ready to accommodate my fickle (and often-fluctuating) tastes, and the car's superb
sound system surrounded me with glorious good music all the way to my destination
in North Carolina. Just be careful when changing CDs -- you might want to
wait until you've stopped for gas -- it's easy to be distracted while shuffling
through discs. And if you bring a lot of CDs, make sure to keep them hidden from
view in the car; you don't want to give a thief any reason to target your vehicle.
So
with night falling and my music helping me to the edge of the Ohio-Kentucky border,
it was time to stop at a friend's for the night. Driving at night, at least for
me, is much more strenuous than driving in daylight. For one, it's easier to feel
tired, with no companion and the constant motion of the car threatening to lull
you to sleep. Secondly, stopping at rest areas and gas stations at night leave
me feeling a bit uneasy. And third, it's just harder for me to see at night --
period. Use your own judgment as to when to stop, but keep in mind: (CONTINUE...)
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