Cresco, Iowa:

This is the Road Trip that got it all started - my first Road Trip ever! It was during the spring of my sophomore year of high school, shortly after I got a driver's license. My mother didn't want me to go, but my father said, "You can go if you want to, but you gotta do it right. Check the oil and tire pressure on the car before you leave, be sure that it's full of gas, keep a map with you, and plan your route ahead of time." That advice stuck with me, and I always make sure to check oil and tire pressure before leaving, fill the car with gas, and I always have a few maps in the car.

I lived in central eastern Iowa at the time of this trip, and Cresco is a tiny town about 15 miles south of the Minnesota border. It was about a 4 hour drive, which wasn't too bad, except neither of the two people I was traveling with knew how to read a map, so we got lost for a while in downtown Waterloo. I eventually figured it out, and we got to our destination unscathed. We had a wonderful time visiting a close friend who had moved from our home to this small town.

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