Is It A Male-Female Thing?...not always

I was on my walk today and I started thinking about a small bone of contention at our house...road trips. Interestingly enough, there was a recent study which gave some statistics about arguments which ensue when couples travel together in a car. Apparently, it's common. For the most part, I think men and women view car rides differently. Of course there are always exceptions, so please don't get on my case about these generalizations.

Here are some ideas a relative and I had fun coming up with one day. Agree or disagree?
                                                                                         
Women : Driving is a means to an end.    Men : Driving is enjoyable.

Women : When possible, take a scenic route, stop frequently for yard sales, tourist attractions and the like.  Men : Stop as little as possible. The end is the goal. The trip is timed to the minute.    

Women : Stop at a roadside type restaurant that has a gift shop or at least have a nice leisurely picnic lunch, smell the air, pick the flowers, stretch.   Men : Eat a sandwich from the cooler while driving.

Women : Go to a decent restroom when necessary...every two hours or less is best. Tourist info or roadside attraction or cafe (with a gift shop) is preferable.  Men :  "What do you mean you need to go again? You just went five hours ago." Go to whatever requires the least amount of off road stopping time. Aforementioned relative shared that her hubby would go in a bottle in the car if it meant he didn't have to stop.

                                   

 Women :  Leave the non scenic super highway (they look alike almost anyplace on the planet don't they?) to see the world's biggest bagel or some other equally appealing site which is only about 10 km away.  Men : No time to stop. Have to get to the hotel by the designated time. Didn't allow for off road excursions. Ten km each way totals 20 km...nope, can't happen. Too far.
                                                                                                     
 I'm sure the list goes on and on. The thing is, what's the hurry? What does it matter if you arrive someplace an hour sooner or later. Being adventurous, in my opinion, makes the trip more memorable and enjoyable.

I'll never forget one road trip when hubby gave in to my whim. We were driving along and I was checking the GPS, then loudly announced, "Sleepy Hollow! I want to go to Sleepy Hollow."  I'm not certain whether I even knew that this was a real place. Situated on the east bank of the Hudson River, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is where the author of the famous children's book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, is buried along with other notables such as the Carnegies and the Astors. We visited the small Dutch church of Sleepy Hollow and walked the trails and across the bridge where the headless horseman was said to have ridden. The museum was fascinating despite being a ....well....a museum. What a great off the main road adventure.

Recently, my friend and I were heading toward Frankenmuth when we spotted a sign. "It's a sign!" we both shrieked in unison, "Let's go there."                      

We programmed the GPS which claimed that Clare was 100 km away. That can't be right we thought. Why would they advertise so far away? We decided to continue to our hotel. After all, we didn't want to miss happy hour and our free food and drinks. We had a deadline. The receptionist confirmed our greatest fear...it was a minimum one hour drive each way to Clare, Michigan home of Cops & Doughnuts. Definitely more than a short off road side trip. What to do?

Well, a decision was made. We will just have to go back another time and make this detour a part of our next destination...perhaps on our way to Makinac Island (location of "Somewhere in Time") or Metropolis, Illinois (home of Superman).