Warm weather... Flowers... Loud, uplifting music... Baseball... Spring! Yeah, my favorite time of year, the fog of winter lifts and the world starts to come back to life. Possibilities. The need to free yourself from your surroundings and... Roadtrip! For me spring doesn't really begin untill that first excursion. After all, this is America, land of the automobile. Throw the tent in the car, or the bikes, or the surfboards, or shit, just a 12 pack and a change of clothes, and hit the open road. Crank up the tunes, forget your job, studies or whatever and get away from where you are. Its spring and the world is a big place with nothing but opportunities. The ultimate rite of spring. The roadtrip. The whys, wheres, whos and hows of a good roadtrip are unlimited, but there are certain things that will make it more fun for everyone.

First, why? Why the hell not!Spontinaity is a beautiful thing. Sayits thursday afternoon, you're watchingT.V.. bored out of your mind. A buddy 3 states and 13 hoursaway calls you up and gives you an open invitation. You grab the first person you see, throw some clothes in a backpack, throw the backpack in the trunk and hit the road, off on a great adventure that wasn't even concieved of just hours before.

Or you've been daydreaming of sand and water, but the closest beach is an 8 hour drive away. Go for it! Grab a friend or three and pile in. Don't think, just go. Its going to be better than sitting around your apartment, wishing you were elsewhere, doing the same thing you've done for the last 25 weekends in a row. But a good roadtrip doesn't necessarilyhave to be something that suddenlyhits you. Perhaps you've owed youraunt and uncle in Illinois a visit but have been putting it off. Make getting there the fun. Take an extra day or two and catch some sights along the way. Make a detour and drop in on a friend, or spend a night on the road camping somewhere. There are a million ways to spice up a boring trip, just lighten up and go with the flow. On a roadtrip the possibilities are infinite.