I learned a lot of things on my vacation to the East Coast. For example, Mexican food is hard to come by, people may still be friendly even if they don’t automatically smile or say hello, and public restrooms are much smaller and more scarce over there. I also learned that public transportation isn’t nearly as scary as I’d thought, I was reminded that my town is far from diverse (much less integrated), and I decided once and for all that we will never take another trip without a smartphone, GPS device or both.

I also learned something about myself on vacation.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve longed to live in the city and leave my small hometown behind. I married a country boy, but it’s always been understood that I never, ever want to live on a farm opposites attract. I’ve regretted not living in a bigger city, as a matter of fact, and in the past couple of years, Mark and I have even discussed how fun it would have been to live in a downtown condo before having kids.

But after six days of bad directions and one-way streets and scary neighborhoods and crazy aggressive drivers, I. Could. Not. Wait. for my two-hour road trip to Relevant.

Dropping off Mark and Annalyn at the airport was nerve-wracking. Mark hasn’t actually traveled much without me, and the poor guy was hauling two suitcases, two backpacks, a stroller and our child into a large airport. But once he gave me the all-clear/I’ve got this covered/don’t worry/we’ll be fine signal, I started to breathe a little more deeply.

Negotiating the unfamiliar exits and toll roads was a little difficult, but as the buildings became fewer and farther between and I found a happy medium between the posted speed limit and the ridiculous speed every other driver was keeping, I realized my shoulders were relaxing.

And I have to tell you: The Chevy Equinox I was driving on this little escape from the city was icing on my country road trip cake.

Chevy was kind enough to loan me the crossover, but they didn’t tell me I had to love it. But I did.

The Chevy Equinox I drove was brand-spanking-new and decked out with every option. I felt totally spoiled driving it! From the leather seats to the satellite radio, my drive through the Pennsylvania country was done in style. I will admit that I would have preferred a V6 (yes, I really DO know the difference and have a preference!), but the automatic lights, On-Star navigation system and really great windshield wipers (yes, that is the technical term) made up for it as I drove to the conference in drizzle and to the airport following a snowstorm.

And did you know that an On-Star system can make phone calls? From your car?! (I’m not sure if I was supposed to try out that particular feature, but I really could not resist calling Mark’s cell phone and saying, “Sorry to bother you, but my car wanted to talk to you!” Ohhh, I thought I was funny.)

Mark is a huge car guy, so we talk a lot about “our next car.” I love the size of a crossover, but Mark’s complaint (about our future vehicle options) has been the gas mileage. Fair enough, but this Equinox got great, car-like gas mileage while I was driving it. (I didn’t figure it out exactly, so I don’t have specific numbers. I’m not Motor Trend, you know.) Really, we’ve talked seriously about another Chevy vehicle, but now that I’ve driven it, the Equinox is on my short list of possibilities.

Now, back to this “little bit country” situation. I’m not ready to pack up and move to the boonies – or give my husband the go-ahead for a pen full of pigs (Seriously.) – but I will admit that perhaps the country isn’t that bad. And maybe I’ve been singing along to this song lately. Maybe.

Are you a country person or a city person? And what is your dream car?