no one asked but here's a thread of the road trip I wanna do for my thirtieth birthday (july 2021).
-alien themed
-bring your own playlists
-snacks
-maybe we get abducted fingers crossed!

the starting point is tentative because my ideal, in a non-covid world or maybe a covid-vaccinated world, includes friends. how many? i don't know. hell, i wouldn't care if it was a caravan. so tentatively, it starts in dallas because, well, that's where I am.

planned stops include:
-roswell, nm
-the grand canyon (could be eliminated or could be cool, idk i've never been!)
-the extraterrestrial highway on my birthday pls (july 7th!)
-and we end it in las vegas

all stops are fluid because it's a road trip, duh

(no this is not purely because of my recent x-files binge. these have been on my wishlist for years. the x-files thing is merely a timely influence)

also--i'm a very Structured person so the idea of a road trip is meant to be a break from my normal or maybe a combination of my need for an itinerary (stops we definitely wanna make) with my yearning for wanderlust to stop at cool little places and surrender to the spontaneous

I probably buy a cooler and some ice packs. there'll be hotel or motel stops along the way at night to refreeze them. i just need water for the road and coffee for the morning. of course we stock up on road trip snacks. i'm very partial to m&m's.

i'm also stocking up big time on the facial care products because anyone who has been on long drives knows that it just does something to your skin/makes it feel so gross after a few hours. we can't have that. not on this road trip.

i probably rent a vehicle. because if i rent a vehicle, then i can turn it in at a drop off location and fly back home instead of trying to make the drive all the way back. also my car is small. anything not used or not able to carry home by plane gets donated.

i know. this is likely too expensive. one of the many downfalls that all my friends are online which makes getting all together is so tough. also like, fuck capitalism. that's why it's a dream. i'm sure there's ways to make it cheaper. maybe i'll start buying lottery tickets

anyway. day one. first part of the trip! dallas to roswell, probably a 9-10hour trip if you figure in bathroom breaks, food breaks, gas, etc. did you know that this leg would be enough time to listen to carrie fisher's 'wishful drinking' AND 'the princess diarist' on audiobook?

podcasts & playlists also to be an integral part of any road trip. open to all but i do feel like true crime is a bit overdone for my tastes.

if i'm ever not the driver, i'm not above reading fanfiction out loud. i'm turning thirty on this trip. it's important to be yourself.

I imagine if we leave in the morning and it takes ten hours to get there, we can do dinner and catch a hotel. Downtown Roswell is known for a strip of shops and food. but also their mcdonalds is shaped like a flying saucer so we have options.

we could do breakfast the next day (day two!) at the Cowboy Cafe. Yeah, I want an alien omelette with the roswell sauce okay?

other roswell possibilities:
-ufo museum. i read that it's cheesy but so what?
-roswell museum & art center
-blacklight spacewalk center
-maybe check around the supposed sight of the roswell ufo incident idk!

if we're down for staying another day instead of hitting the road right away, there's the Bottomless Lakes State Park about fourteen miles south of roswell to unwind and get back to nature after a day of good alien fun.

part 2! day three. the longest part of the trip. roswell to the grand canyon. this is probably just a travel day because again, food breaks, bathroom breaks, various pit stops. true spontaneity because i got nothing on the agenda for this except don't pick up hitchhikers.

so technically day four would start at the actual grand canyon. maybe not spending a super long time. that's why this part is okay to cut out. but if anyone else hasn't been (like me) and might wanna check it out, it's on the maybe plan.

after that, we head to the highway.
this is where I get back to my Very Structured ways. my ideal would be to start the drive on the actual highway on my birthday. it just feels like a really cool way to ring in thirty, you know?

we could spend the evening of day four in Rachel, NV or maybe, just stay in Vegas and then head out to the highway the next morning since it's only a two hour drive.

but day five is the extraterrestrial highway. it's not actually a long stretch of highway, just under a hundred miles, i think. not a lot of stops for gas but from what i've read, it's also mostly deserted so if you want those iconic middle of the highway pics, this is where.

places to stop:
-the little a'le'inn
-the mailbox where people leave letters to aliens which honestly, i've read mixed reports that it gets taken down then a new one put up and rinse and repeat.
-alien research center which is more of a gift shop with very inconsistent hours

then vegas! no plans here because it's VEGAS. spend a day or two or three or however many depending on your own vacation time. take in shows. get a tattoo (what who said that). turn in the rental car. we take flights home. i cry a lot of mostly happy tears.

i go home. now i'm thirty. nothing much has really changed but hopefully we all had a pretty good time.

anyway don't ask me why this thread feels Real Vulnerable to post idk!! (just kidding i know why but i can't say why because that would be More Vulnerable but for reasons that may not make sense oh no i'm a mess)