Last week FitFootmom and I traveled with the shoe mobile from Gainesville, FL up to Newburyport, Massachusetts, where Suda’s FitFoot North will be operating out of for the next 6 weeks.
We had a great time partly because of some great planning (if I do say so m’self 😆) and partly due to our “spiritual surrendering” attitude during the three day (we took our time) journey up route 1-95.
Here are a few tips we discovered really helped make this arduous drive quite enjoyable:
plan food and pack A LOT of snacks and water. I spent the day before we left making banana muffins and pad tai spring rolls (both from Emma Coburn’s The Runners Kitchen cookbook). Plus we packed yogurts, fruit, crackers, salami, protein bars, and lots of water. This saved us sooo much time (and $$) not having to stop for lunch or for mid afternoon snacks.
get a reliable and comfortable vehicle. I chose to rent a UHaul truck so as not to put a lot of wear and tear on my SUV. It was surprisingly easy to drive and felt remarkably safe driving through midday NYC traffic (more on that escapade later 😆)
Turn off the radio. This may be counter intuitive, but listening to the same songs over and over or the news or constantly adjusting the station between cities is mentally exhausting and can drive you a little berserk. Also, if you are lucky enough to have a copilot whose company you enjoy, having music in the background while you chat is annoying. FitFootmom and I spent a good chunk of time chatting while on the road. It was really nice!
Take your time and dont fret if you take a wrong turn. As mentioned above, we somehow found ourselves emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel in NY and then about 10 mins later arrived on Lexington Ave in NYC. New Yorkers were totally fine with a mobile shoe store trucking it’s way through the busy city streets - no one flipped us off or beeped at us, so I call it a win. Plus, with the GPS technology we all have at our disposal on our phones these days, we are hardly ever trusty lost in a driving sense.
Treat yourself well. We stayed two nights in two different states at Hilton Garden Inns (quite nice, except no pool/hot tub so we had to improvise) and we treated ourselves to room service dinner and buffet breakfast. No way did we want to get back in the car to find dinner each night.
Exercise (or at least stretch) a bit each day. The body can get all out of sorts sitting in a car for 8+ hours/day. I packed my Suda’s FitFoot resistance band and did mobility exercises each evening and morning at the hotel(s) (and even at some rest stops). My body sure thanked me.
Wear sunscreen, hat, sunshirts. I missed a spot on my left arm and have a nice trucker‘s sunburn to show for it.
Hope that was helpful and I hope you all make the most of your summer and head out for some adventures! Dont forget to wear comfortable and supportive footwear, too! 🥰
Stay well, FitFooters!
Betsy
