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<strong>The allure and romance</strong> of the open road has long inspired writers to show us that, when it comes to travel, beauty is found in the journey as much as it is the destination. What’s interesting is that a travel story written half a century or more ago can be just as inspiring — if not more so — as contemporary narratives.

“One of the challenges of travel today is the sense that there are no longer any truly new places to discover,” said Yaël Schlick, a professor in the Department of Language of Literature at Queens University. “A certain degree of nostalgia is surely present in ’the romance of the open road’ and what it signifies.”

Schlick, author of “Feminism and the Politics of Travel After the Enlightenment,” said that past travelogues help us to experience vicariously a time when novelty was still possible, a time when drivers did not always know where they were going or what they might find along the way.

These five classic narratives do just that. They have inspiring countless travellers to drive those same roads, hoping to grasp a little of the wonder of days past. As we wait for pandemic restrictions to ease so we can travel again, these stories will leave you feeling like you are along for the ride.
<h2><strong>“On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac</strong></h2>
This counter-culture classic published in 1957 takes readers across the U.S. with hedonistic protagonists who live in a tangle of sex and drugs, jazz and poetry. Though technically a novel, “On the Road” is famously known as a stream-of-consciousness autobiographical account of Kerouac’s travels with friend Neal Cassady. Considered by many to be the bible of the Beat Generation, a post-Second World War literary movement, the book caused a stir when it was published for its style and content. Yet, it still resonates with rebels and wannabes the world over today who dream of the freedoms and excesses that beckon from the open road in 1950s America.<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159302" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/9781598877052.jpg" alt="Road Trip Stories" width="450" height="450" />
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<h2><strong>“Autonauts of the Cosmoroute,” by Julio Cortázar and Carol Dunlop</strong></h2>
Long before slow travel was a thing, Canadian writer and photographer Dunlap and her Argentinian husband took 33 days to take what would normally be a 10-hour trip in their Volkswagen bus from Paris to Marseilles, stopping at every rest area along the way. They chronicled their journey in this 1983 book. “Despite the unpromising terrain of the autoroute, they make interesting discoveries daily,” said Schlick. “Much of the travelogue is humorous, yet it’s also a serious book about ’slow travel’ in which they subvert the autoroute’s efficiency and find adventure in unexpected places.”

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159301" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wh-TripBooks-Autonauts-May22.jpg" alt="Road Trip Stories" width="338" height="450" />
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<h2>“<strong>Travels with Charley,” by John Steinbeck</strong></h2>
Accompanied by his standard poodle, Charley, Steinbeck road trips from his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y., to visit friends in San Francisco, Calif. Sleeping in a camper attached to his truck and interviewing fellow Americans along the way (from truck drivers to randomly met Shakespearean actors), Steinbeck set out to rediscover the country he’d spent his life writing about (he was 58 when he took the trip). Regarded by many as a mostly fictional account, this 1962 book remains a charming travelogue that captures the cultural shift happening in the U.S, at that time.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159303" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/41JuAMoUcXL.jpg" alt="Road Trip Stories" width="282" height="500" />
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<h2><strong>“A Motor Flight Through France,” by Edith Wharton</strong></h2>
Taking readers on a journey through the glamour of the final years of the <em>Belle Époque</em>, Wharton’s beautifully descriptive prose takes readers from Boulogne-Sur-Mer to Paris in an early-model Panhard touring car driven by her chauffeur, Cook. Taking in the delights of the Loire Valley, pretty villages and cathedral towns, Wharton captures the France of impressionist paintings (complete with a goose-girl “pink as a hawthorn bud, a ‘kerchief’ tied about her curls”) in her 1908 book. In her writings, the author muses that automobiles have brought back the romance of travel and that approaching a place by car allows you to truly understand a destination — two observations that remain relatable more than a century after she put them to paper.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159304" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/81Rde2vu3NL.jpg" alt="Road Trip Stories" width="848" height="1280" />
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<h2><strong>“The Motorcycle Diaries,” by Ernesto “Che” Guevara</strong></h2>
In 1952, 23-year-old medical student Ernesto “Che” Guevara set out to tour South America on a vintage Norton motorcycle. Travelling with his friend Alberto Granado, the pair journeyed 8,000 kilometres in nine months, with the diaries form the trip forming an epic guide to the continent, filled with self-discovery and youthful wonder. The inequalities that Guevara sees on the road help shape his future as a Marxist revolutionary. The diaries were published by Guevara’s family in 1992, 50 years after his adventure, becoming an instant classic and spawning a critically acclaimed movie in 2004.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159299" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wh-TripBooks-Motorcycles-May22.jpg" alt="Road Trip Stories" width="299" height="450" />

Five Books to Cure that Open-road Wanderlust

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<strong>Nova Scotian travel writer Clara Dennis</strong> was a trailblazer in more ways than one. Exploring a rapidly changing Nova Scotia by car in the 1930s and 1940s – many times on roadways still being built – she wrote from the heart about the people and places of her home province.

“At that time, Nova Scotia, and especially Cape Breton, seemed very remote to Canadians who were leisure travellers because it lacked the roads and railways that had opened up more westerly provinces to tourism,” said Alexander Gates, executive director and curator at the Canadian Automotive Museum.

Documenting her experiences in three books, multiple articles published in magazines across Canada and through thousands of photographs, Dennis was considered the province’s first travel writer. She also documented Mi'kmaq folklore and traditions for what may well have been the first time.

“What made Clara’s writing so special was that she wasn’t just doing this high-culture grandiose reporting but talking to real people. This deeply personal writing was really different from what else was happening at that time,” said Heather Allen, senior archivist at the Nova Scotia Archives. Dennis interviewed lighthouse keepers and fishermen, as well as persons of note, which gave her stories unique perspectives that drew her readers in.

“Dennis was known as being a car enthusiast, and in her books, she talks about the automotive aspects of her travels. She took a lot of photos of her car, and we have many in the collection,” added Allen.

Though seeing a woman behind the wheel of a car wouldn’t have been unheard of in the late 1930s in much of Canada, a motorist such as Dennis was undoubtedly a novelty as she roared into the remote communities that she loved to write about. Dennis was not of her time, travelling mostly solo. Gates said that reading magazines from the era there are few bylined stories by women writers — let alone by any as prolific as Dennis.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159135" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wh-ClaraDennis-Image1-May8.jpg" alt="Clara Dennis" width="1280" height="854" />

Born Clarissa Archibald Dennis in 1881 (she lived in the province until her death at the age of 76 in 1958) some of her freedom to pursue life as a travel writer likely came from being born into money. Her father was a senator and ran the Halifax Herald where she cut her teeth as a reporter.

Though long-forgotten, Dennis was a household name across Canada in her time. She left a legacy of more than 2,500 photographs which, along with her books, notebooks and many articles, are housed at the Nova Scotia Archives.

Driving new roads took Dennis to tiny villages in the Cape Breton Highlands that could previously only be accessed by travelling over the mountains on foot or horseback (or by boat along the shore). At times, it  was extremely difficult. “Some of the roads through Cape Breton are still considered a little extreme but looking at the photos of these dirt roads out of the side of the mountain that she drove through, I can't imagine,” said Allen.

In a 1929 story for Canadian Motorist (which would later evolve into CAA magazine) Dennis describes how driving past Cap Rouge in the Highlands she had repeatedly back up her car and then drive forward   to get around the tight curves, “... for the road had not yet been completed.” Dennis was an adventurer, and clearly loved the challenges of getting to explore every part of the province, whether or not it was quite automobile ready.

The car featured in many of Dennis’ photographs and journeys is a 1938 Hupmobile. This model was one of the last cars produced by Detroit's Hupp Motor Car Co, which operated from 1909 before filing for bankruptcy in 1940. Known for being inexpensive and reliable (and for a comfortable ride, Gates said) only a relatively small numbers of Hupmobiles were manufactured, which means they are a much coveted find amongst today’s antique auto collectors.

Dennis’ Hupmobile would have been a sturdy choice for touring the mountains and backroads of the province she loved, though she’d have needed to carry out basic maintenance from time to time so must have been fairly savvy with the basic mechanics of her motor. “I’m sure that she would have been quite an adept mechanic,” said Gates.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-159136" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wh-ClaraDennis-Image3-May8.jpg" alt="Clara Dennis" width="1280" height="956" />

Trailblazing her way across Nova Scotia

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<strong>With public health orders</strong> to socially distance and strong recommendations to put those sun-destination vacations on hold, many Canadian’s fell back in love with the great outdoors over the past year. Camping provided a way for people to get away from it all (as far as restrictions allow) and stay physically apart from those who were not part of their bubble.

Many folks are perfectly happy sleeping in a tent on the ground, but for those who may be new to the world of camping or just prefer a certain level of comfort, trying to figure out how those poles work or having only a piece of material separating you from nature, can be a bit daunting. A better camping option may be one of the cool ways you can utilize your vehicle as your home away from home.

If you’re willing to invest a little money, rooftop tents take things to a whole new level of camping comfort. These deluxe tents are set up in minutes and come with a mattress built-in. They live on your car roof and, when you are ready to use it, spring open similar to a pop-up trailer.

For the past four years Kevin Rego, who lives in Cambridge, Ont., has gone camping with his wife, two kids (ages 13 and nine) and their dog using a rooftop tent. He said the family loves it. “What initially attracted me to these was that because you’re up off the ground, a change of weather isn’t going to cause an overnight mishap, but also you’re safe from being a snack for any wildlife,” said Rego.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-157897" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wh_CarCamping_Option3-March20-DL.jpg" alt="Auto Camping" width="1280" height="853" />

Rooftop tents are a bit of an investment. You could spend a few thousand for a top model and there are a number of add-ons, such as awnings and thermal liners for winter camping, you can also purchase. Peter Sugura, regional manager of Rack Attack, which has four Ontario locations selling various brands of rooftop tents, said that as long as your vehicle has a roof rack, it more than likely can support one. He said you can even mount one of a smaller car, like a Mini Cooper. The iKamper SkyCamp Mini, for example, sleeps two and is compact. Other rooftop tent options can sleep up to five. You just need to have the right vehicle to support them, he said.

“Most prospective rooftop tent customers are unaware that they will usually need an aftermarket racking system to house the tent,” said Sugura. He advised you speak to your outfitter about the model of tent you are considering purchasing and whether your vehicle can support it.

As easy as they are to set up, getting the tent unit on and off the roof of your vehicle can be a challenge as they can weigh between 80 and 200 pounds. Most people will keep them on for the entire camping season. You may also encounter parking issues in some condo garages because of the extra height it adds to your vehicle, said Mike Gorev, co-owner of Toronto-based Red Bear Outdoors.

“When I lived downtown, I had to park on the street that whole time [it was on my vehicle],” said Gorev. “But it is worth it. We get so many testimonials from customers after they buy a rooftop tent. They could never go back to camping any other way. It’s like travelling with an outdoor condo.”

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-157898" src="http://d3odfdcwc42kff.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wh_CarCamping_Option2-March20-DL-1.jpg" alt="Auto Camping" width="1280" height="1921" />

If you do not want a rooftop model, there are other options available, including SUV, trucks and car tents that attach to your vehicle and provide extra room while camping. These tents run between $200 and $500. If you have enough space in your vehicle you can fold down the seats and sleep there, or in the bed of your pickup, and use the tent as an extra space for relaxing, storage or food preparation.

“It’s like adding a living room to your bedroom,” said Rod Matin of TruckTentsCanada.com.

No tent, no problem. It is possible to just sleep in your vehicle – though, it will be more comfortable it is a larger model, like an SUV. Sean Blackwood, camping expert and store manager at Mountain Equipment Coop in Toronto, said that even though your seats may fold down, they’re unlikely to fold completely flat, so you’ll want to use a thick sleeping pad or an inflatable mattress.

One important thing to remember, he said, is condensation. Your windows will likely be covered in moisture if you sleep in your car. “You just have to crack the window and hope for the best. You might wake up and roll your windows down to get some fresh air in, otherwise, it might get pretty moist,” said Blackwood. “Sleeping in a moisture-wicking garment will help keep you cool and stop you from adding to the condensation issue.”

And, if you do plan to use your vehicle for extra light and heat while camping, be careful about its battery. “Some of us have learned the hard way how easy it is to kill your battery,” said Blackwood.

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Lola Augustine Brown

Articles by Lola Augustine Brown

Five Books to Cure that Open-road Wanderlust

Trailblazing her way across Nova Scotia

Camping in Comfort