What was your most memorable college road trip?

Thanks to everyone who shared stories of their adventures on the open road. Here are some of our favorites.

Words by TCNJ's editorial staff

Driving across country

Right after my graduation dinner, I headed west in my 2009 Nissan Altima. Having grown up in the Northeast, I had no idea of the sheer vastness of the western U.S.—nor of the sheer nothingness of the Midwest. (Good God, there is nothing there except corn and soy fields!) In Portland, Oregon, Kunal Jani ’13 (on right, in photo) joined me for the rest of the trip. As we made our way back to New Jersey, we visited Olaniyi Solebo ’12 in San Francisco; Andrew White ’13 in Vail, Colorado; and Marisa Gonzalez ’11 in Fort Worth, Texas. All told I traveled 11,000 miles through 29 states. I needed three oil changes and spent an absurd amount on gas. But I’m certain I will never look back on any experience with the same fondness.

—Stephen Shiffer ’13

This is what they had to say…

Cheyenne Wickham ’17: Niagara Falls and Chicago with my boyfriend, a former exchange student at TCNJ. We took three Greyhound buses and two airplanes along the way, but it was all worth it.

Gabe Allen ’15: Visiting every NBA arena in North America with my dad. We chronicled the adventure in our book Around the League in 80 Days.

Christine Uhl Lattanzi ’62: Spring Break ’61. After persuading our parents to let us go, Patricia McCaffrey Smith ’62, Joyce Gierisch Linson ’63, Veronica Molitoris McKeen ’62, Dorothy Garofall Forrester ’62, and I climbed into my red-and-black ’55 Pontiac convertible and headed south to Fort Lauderdale. We put the top down when we hit Florida and were pretty sunburned when we arrived.

By the numbers…

20

Percentage of respondents who mentioned Florida, making it the most popular destination.

6, 3

States visited and days spent traveling, respectively, by Carly Martz ’16 and Laura Straub ’17 during an impromptu vacation last spring. “Neither of us had seen much of the northeastern U.S. so we thought, ‘Why not see it all in one weekend?’” says Martz.

17

Respondents who visited Canada last summer to watch the Women’s World Cup: Kelly Feeny ’10, Bri Brennan ’11, Jaclyn Grecco ’12, Annie McCarthy ’12, Allyson Anderson ’13, Kate Landrigan ’13, Amy VanDyk ’13, Sloan DePiero ’14, Katie Lindacher ’14, Kendra Griffith ’15, Carly Dubrosky ’18, Abigail Emmert ’18, Danielle McCann ’18, Julia Orrico ’18, Yota Sfondouris ’18, Christina Stabile ’18, and Elizabeth Thoresen ’18.