Our original plan was a road trip from the East Coast of America to the West, all the way to sunny California. But lacking enough money and time for such a serious adventure, and mostly lacking solid driving experience, we scrapped that idea and agreed to start with a trip to Florida, which we calculated would take 14 hours.
(Trip plan)
(Our breakfast before starting the long journey)
Veronika and I had Russian driver's licenses, though I had only been driving for a month in a right-hand drive car (shoutout to the Far East!), and Veronika hadn't driven at all since getting her precious license! So all our friends were foaming at the mouth, advising us to ditch the road trip idea and buy a plane ticket, which they said would "get us there alive!" But we are Russian women, not used to fearing burning huts or galloping horses, so we easily rented a small sedan online and went to the agency to pick it up.
At first, we couldn't find our car in the parking lot among hundreds of others, but after half an hour of wandering and checking the alarm on potential candidates, we found our little Nissan Altima. Happy, we got in, Veronika behind the wheel and me in the honorary navigator's seat.
(Driver #1 - blonde Veronika)
And imagine my surprise when our newly minted driver asked in confusion, pointing at the automatic transmission: "What are these letters? R D P?" I burst into laughter and tears: "How are we going to drive 1,500 kilometers if you don't know what that is?" Calm down, Veronika just learned on a manual transmission. I quickly explained to her "what those letters were," and we hit the road.
(Stop at a gas station: counting money for coffee and a donut)
We took turns driving: Veronika would drive for a few hours, then I would take over, and vice versa. On the very first day, a police officer pulled us over because the car was driving with the lights off. I was driving at that moment, although according to the rental rules, I technically wasn't supposed to be behind the wheel. Driving was only permitted for Veronika, in whose name we rented the car.
I had to pull over to the curb. And here Veronika made her first mistake – she unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and tried to get out of the car to talk to the police officer. Under US law, you must never do that. The driver must keep their hands on the steering wheel, and the passenger in the front seat must remain buckled. I hissed through my teeth at Veronika: "What are you doing? Sit back down!" She didn't understand what she did wrong, as it's quite Russian to get out of the car and talk to a police officer as an equal. I yanked her back into her seat and managed to buckle her in, but by then the officer had already approached us. He saw our frightened eyes and asked for my documents.
While I was trying to keep a poker face, Veronika blurted out in fear: "We didn't do anything wrong! Why did you stop us?" The officer looked at our documents and asked why the person behind the wheel wasn't the renter, but a minor girl, pointing at me. That's when Veronika's story and the Puss in Boots eyes from the "Shrek" movie came into play: "Well, you know, I started feeling sick. That's why Violetta took the wheel. We can't deviate from our route!! But I promise that when I feel better, we will definitely switch!" The police officer listened to the explanation, just nodded, wished us a safe trip, and let us go. Laws in the US are usually followed implicitly, but in reality, police officers are often lenient if they see valid reasons.
(In Miami, looking for a machine to pay for parking)
Once, our friend Jem was driving as fast as he could to the airport because his girlfriend Sasha was late for her flight. At some point, the police started chasing him. Jem was forced to stop, otherwise, they might have just started shooting at him. Knowing he was facing a heavy fine, he decided to tell the officer everything as it was: "WE ARE LATE FOR THE AIRPORT! Very much so! We have very little time left, and besides, I think I took the wrong turn." Upon learning of the situation, the sheriff smiled and offered to help, and not only did he not issue a speeding ticket, but he also escorted our friends to the airport with flashing lights. That's how Jem and Sasha made their flight, and we, inspired by their story and our own experience, stopped being afraid of meeting police officers.
(Final destination - Universal Studios Park, Orlando, Florida)
In the end, during our entire road trip, we didn't get a single ticket, didn't get into any accidents, and we didn't even run out of gas on the highway. Not bad for beginner female drivers, right? But this adventure happened in September, when our stay in America was coming to an end. So let me tell you what happened to us during this summer.
