Road trips bring the world together.

The hubs and I just completed an eight-hour road trip. Here's the thing with road trips. They always sound fun - kind of retro and All-American. And they are fun, when the right song is on the radio to belt out (off-key, much to the dismay of my husband).

However, not so much when you have to go the bathroom.

We stopped at our first gas station, and it did not have indoor plumbing. We had to use the portapotty in the dirt lot beside the station. I told the hubs as I walked out, "Whatever you do, don't look down."

By lunch, we upgraded to the travel center offering both a Quizno's and a Dairy Queen. While we ordered sandwiches (Quizno's subssssssssssss. They are gooooooooood. Or so sayth that weird, annoying, yet slightly charming commercial from a few years ago.), the hubs charmed me with stories of cleaning out the ice cream machine when he worked at Dairy Queen as a young lad.

But seriously, yall, the next exit took the cake. I was charmed by the exit signs promising Starbucks. I wanted some coffee to counter the images of portapotties still crowding my head. When we exited, we saw this sign, situated in middle-of-no-where USA across from a corn field.

Yes, that is a Starbucks, a Denny's, a Subway, and a Burger King. Something for everyone.

Would you like an obnoxiously large chair for your man cave?

They will ship it to you for $89.98 plus tax! (If you don't believe me that it was obnoxiously large, note that the piece of paper is 8 1/2 X 11.)

The Starbucks? Not a random gas station coffee bar "proudly serving Starbucks coffee." Oh no. This was the real deal. I didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed that Starbucks sold out.

And at each gas station we stopped at, people from all walks of life were doing the same thing we were. Pumping gas, going to the bathroom, marveling at the bizarreness of it all.

The moral of the story is this: At some point on a road trip, every one of us - black, white, lawyer, student, whether you own a Mercedes or '89 Chevy Cavalier - will have to go to the bathroom above all else and our only option will be a gas station with no indoor plumbing.

But, please don't worry. Our end location has indoor plumbing. And a lovely view.

(Welcome to National Harbor, Maryland. Work beckoned, but we'll enjoy some fun time as well.)

Joining up with Carissa to share this travel miscellany.