OliviaBrooklyn, NYWashington, D.C. then Chattanooga, TN26 hoursI wanted to visit my family. I usually try to go home to see my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew a couple of times a year, and I hadn't been able to yet in 2020 due to the pandemic.I drove by myself from where I live in Brooklyn to my brother's place in Washington, D.C. The next day, he, his partner, and I drove from D.C. to Chattanooga. I split the driving into two days on the way back as well. My brother doesn't have a valid driver's licenses because he uses public transportation or walks everywhere in D.C. His partner has a license but because he grew up in NYC, he isn't a very confident driver. Because I really didn't mind, I did most of the driving. I think I did 12 of the 18 hours to and from D.C. so I drove a total of 20 hours.We took as few stops as possible — two on the way to Chattanooga and two on the way back to D.C. for gas, food, and bathroom breaks. I didn't make any stops on the drives between Brooklyn and D.C. We wore our masks at every stop and packed sanitising wipes for gas pumps and hand sanitiser to use before getting back in the car after each stop. I also quarantined for a week before leaving and quarantined for two weeks after I got back, in accordance with New York's travel restrictions.We had to rent a car for the drive down and finding one actually proved very difficult. The rental places said that demand was very high because so many more people were taking road trips. I had to call a bunch of places to find an available car. I also got a speeding ticket in Virginia on our way back. I was super annoyed because I was only going ten miles per hour over the speed limit and the police officer that pulled me over wasn't wearing a mask when he talked to me through the window.Spending time with my brother and his partner. We had a lot of fun talking, listening to podcasts, singing along to music, and laughing. Since we live in different cities, we don't get to spend a lot of time together so it was really amazing to have 18 uninterrupted hours of hang time. Also, the Shenandoah Valley is gorgeous so I always enjoy driving through it.We listened to all six-ish hours of Las Culturista's Top 200 Moments in Culture History, and it was incredible. I highly recommend it to all pop culture lovers. We also listened to Who? Weekly , more Las Culturista , and Leah Remini's audiobook Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. As far as music, I would like to highlight Lady Gaga's Chromatic and Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia for getting us through. Honorable mention to "Domino Dancing" by Pet Shop Boys and "Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee for being the standout throwbacks of the trip.We split the cost of renting a car for the drive there and it was $1,139 (£873.49) total. I spent $20 (£15.34) on the audiobook, $10 (£7.67) on wipes and hand sanitiser, $20 (£15.34) for parking overnight in D.C., $22 (£16.87) in tolls, $18 (£13.80) on fast food, $50 (£38.34) on gas, and $131 (£100.46) on the speeding ticket — the fine itself was only $60 (£46.01) but there were over $70 (£53.68) in fees to pay the damn thing. Also, I am very privileged to have been given the car my parents originally bought for me when I was in college for the drive back and to now have in New York. I had to pay around $300 (£230.07) for six months of insurance and $200 (£153.38) a month for parking here so those expenses play into the road trip somewhat.Now that I have a car, I'm definitely going to make that drive again. My brother and I are already talking about it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't think I will be comfortable flying before there's a coronavirus vaccine and honestly flying out of New York is always such a pain — especially during the holiday season. Driving is a lot less stressful even though it takes more time, and now that I have a car — again, I recognise this is a huge privilege — it will be less expensive than flying. I'd also like to take some shorter road trips around the east coast soon.Definitely wear your mask at every stop, even in drive-throughs — we want to protect everyone! Keep an eye out for sanitising wipes for a few weeks before you make the trip because they're hard to find. If you're renting a car, don't wait until the last minute to book the reservation because demand is high right now. Finally, listen to Las Culturista's Top 200 Moments in Culture History. It's so many hours of entertainment. Listening to those three episodes was honestly one of the highlights of my entire vacation.