"Road trips" all across the Garden State Parkway

One thing I love about being home is that I have access to a car, and having access to a car means that I can essentially go anywhere, anytime. At school, I don't have a car, which means I'm restricted to going places that are either in walking distance or easily accessed by public transportation.

Having a car means that I can go to concerts, and not have to worry about which bus or train I'm going to take back (because not all public transportation in Cleveland is 24/7). I love that; sure, it's fine to get out of the venue early and right as the show is ending, but personally I kinda like lingering, meeting other fans and talking to bands.

I've driven to a fair few places in the tri-state area to go to concerts. Most recently, I drove to Danbury, Connecticut for the "CT Holiday Throwdown" (more about that in a separate post)- an almost 2 hour drive. I've driven out to Long Island (Nassau Coliseum) and to various venues up and down New Jersey (PNC Bank Arts Center, The Stone Pony, Starland Ballroom), not to mention driving up to Westchester to meet a friend, where we'd then be driven up to Poughkeepsie to go to a concert.

Driving, to me, is freedom. I love having that freedom. I love being able to decide that I want to go up to Connecticut, out to Long Island, or down to Asbury Park, and just being able to go. While public transportation does go to most of these places, it takes longer, isn't direct (I'd have to switch trains at least twice- not including a subway in Manhattan- if I wanted to get up to Connecticut), and you have to plan a little more. It's a trade-off, of course; public transportation is cheaper in many cases, better for the environment, and there are some places where it just doesn't make sense to drive (if I was going to a show in Manhattan, there's no way I'd drive- parking and tolls are astronomically expensive, plus because of traffic it would take just as long as a train, if not longer).

I considered not going to the concert in Connecticut- after all, 2 hours is a bit of a trek (but it's not the farthest I've driven for a concert; I drove over 3 hours to see Blink-182 in Hershey Park with my best friend). But I do like driving; it's nice to have some solitary time just listening to music and singing along. When I'm driving to the concert, I'll often listen to one of the bands that I'm going to see; when I'm driving home, I'll listen to them again, this time singing alone extra obnoxiously to the songs they played at the show. Or I'll listen to the CD of one of the opening bands that I just bought.

I've also realized that while there have been times when I regretted not going to a concert (for example I kinda wish I had gone to a concert down in Vineland, when I had been spending a week at the shore), there's never been a time when I've regretted making the drive out to a concert. I've yet to be disappointed, but maybe that's just me- after all, I basically live for live music.