wedding road trip

Getting Dirty on the Road

Editor’s note: I know what you’re thinking. That’s not what this post is about, you dirty little strumpet.

At this point, we’ve told most of friends and family about the Wedding Road Trip. Almost without exception, people have responded very positively, with most offering us lodging and some even asking us to stay an extra day (I suspect they need some help with yard work). However, a few have inquired about our sanity or have freely offered up their doubts and questions:

• “That sounds really stressful.”
• “It’s too much time together.”
• “My clothes were stolen in Toledo - never go there.” (we won’t, Uncle Sean)
• “What if the car breaks down?”
• “What happens if you break up?” (which we cover here)
• “The US is really boring, except for [town where I live].”
• “What if you’re pulled over in New Mexico and they discover your fiancée (ahem, Jaime) has an outstanding speeding ticket and arrest her?”

To be honest, the above issues do not concern me. What really scares me is…

How in the hell are we going to do our laundry?

My friends are probably laughing at this point, because they think I am always doing laundry. It isn’t true. I hit the suds once every two weeks, at the most. While I’m waiting for my laundry to finish, I use the time to catch up on phone calls, so it makes sense why my friends think I’m always at the laundromat. And admittedly, I’m a connoisseur of coin-op. Having lived in NYC, Boston, and now SF, I’ve never had a washer and dryer in my apartment. Achieving that is, in fact, my primary adult fantasy (sorry, Cindy Crawford).

But really. We’ll be driving 12 hours in hot weather, showing up in a city for a brief reunion consisting of dinner, questions, sleeping, and then taking off early the next morning. And I know myself. Laundry never wins.

• Going to see a band in Austin vs. doing laundry? Austin wins!
• Stop to see the World’s Largest Ball of Twine vs doing laundry? Twine wins!
• Visiting the Makers Mark distillery vs. doing laundry? Please. No contest.

So… do we schedule time for laundry stops on the road, swinging by Amarillo for a sandwich and a spin cycle?  Or do we force our laundry issues onto the people we visit? You know, just ring the doorbell and say, “Hi! It’s been a long time! Mind if we use the Maytag?” Maybe we should just buy new clothes in each city, flinging the used ones onto I-40?

Let us know if you have ideas, or can recommend any fantastic laundromats on the road.

Tags: road trip logistics, road trip questions