A road trip with no predetermined destination is like that. Sometimes you find out that your destination is home. It’s ok. Nothing to regret, you can always do it again.

Sometimes you see your home better from some distance, and you discover; Hey, it’s not such a bad place!

I agree with kayakchickee. It may be that you took too long of a trip. When I was living in Berkeley, me and a buddy once hopped in my truck and wound up in Oregon. Took only a day to get there. Another time we wound up in Mexico. That turned into a two day road trip.

azrulazmie, do you feel the same blues when you take a planned trip?

Think of it this way: thats your halfway point.

Go back! just pick another route…

I think that while having no predetermined destination is really exciting, it can also feel a bit lonely. This is a natural part of the trip, though. That’s the thing with these trips, they are just like life, ups and downs, and somehow it all seems to work out in the end (hopefully). If I’m on a trip like this and I start to get kind of bluesy, I accept that, and either indulge it or try to bring myself out of it. You can put on some really fun, light music and sing as loud as you can, you can stop at a diner for a piece of pie and strike up a conversation with the waitress, you can pull off somewhere and just take a little walk. The feeling will go away with the next fun discovery. I think short trips are definitely the way to go if you’re worried about it, though. You know you’ll always be able to get home if you need to, but you can stay out as long as you want. Good luck and make sure you have lots of good tunes with you! And Pringles! GREAT road trip food. ;)

take a break… don’t just travel and drive… but if you have time, just settle in some place (hotel/motel) for couple of days which will make you feel ‘not living out of the suit cases and will rather give you an oppurtunity to relax and be just like home’.

It happens to us as well, but when you wake up in the morning in some motel and you dont have to rush into anywhere and instead can enjoy a relaxed breakfast at a local place, it rejuvinates you….

Its vacation, take is easy.

It’s perfectly normal. I have been road tripping for about 20,000 miles, and it still happens. When it does you put on “On the road again” by willie nelson or “turn the page” by bob seger or the metallica cover or something like that, and you just drive right through it.

Yes, sometimes on my long trips I would miss the comforts of home. My friend and I would actually long for just sitting on the couch and watching tv. We’d usually end up meeting people that would invite us over to do just that. Of course it’s not the same when it’s not your own home. The thing is, when I am at home sitting on the couch and watching tv, I often long to be having the adventure of traveling. The grass is always greener…

I’ve felt that. You start missing certain things, things you don’t have at your reach but would if you were back home.

Interesting thread, and all are good responses.

Feeling bluesy is okay too. Sometimes I think we are taught that something is “wrong” when we feel blue or sad or nostalgic. Let yourself experience the feeling, explore your thoughts and feelings. Turn off all distractions. Meditate.

Some of the most interesting trips are actually quite close to home. I’ve found that entering rivers, canals, abandoned rail road tracks, the land under power lines is interesting, takes me away from the familiar infrastructure, but allows me to return fairly quickly chez moi (to my home place).

Picture Courtesy of http://www.animationfactory.com

My own experience has been in the early years 1 through 10 I had a couple of times where I went home so to speak. As mentioned above “home is more appealing from afar” each time I returned I only stayed a few weeks. Now i dont even bother thinking about it. The few times it has crossed my mind I sit down with pen & paper And start to list the positive & Negative on returning home & the positive & negative on staying where I am Normaly takes only a few minutes to figure out I’m better off where I am :)

Took me 40 years to figure this out but it is sooooo true

By Tarik
Feeling bluesy is okay too. Sometimes I think we are taught that something is “wrong” when we feel blue or sad or nostalgic. Let yourself experience the feeling, explore your thoughts and feelings.

hmmm….have you been going it alone? i went with my significant other (who is my best friend too) and that helped. if he had not been there i would have missed home (where he is) so much i would have needed to go back. so my advice…bring a trusted/loved companion as well as a cell phone to keep in touch with family and other friends. We called a few people each day to say how we were doing, etc. that way we did not feel like no one knew where we were. hope this advice helps!
:)pinkhibiscus

My question for you is: Why do you road trip? Maybe figuring out your motivation for doing something will help you figure out your reaction…