Driving From Rhode Island To New York City (Without A License)
- Konrad Tillman
- Jul 9
- 3 min read
Intro
Believe it or not, growing up, I used to be a semi-professional race car driver. Well, over the course of my travels, you might have expected me to have a driver's license in order to get around. Well, you would be wrong. I do have a learner's permit, and when my mum told me that she was completely shattered and unable to drive, I took it upon myself to drive her to New York on my learner's permit.
How did it go? It was weird being behind the wheel again 😅
The Experience
Finishing up babysitting duties in Providence around 7 pm, we had to get to New York City that night in order for my flight back to Providence the next morning (I’ll explain that in a bit), as well as the fact that my mum had a meeting at 8 am in NYC. Staying the night in PVD wasn’t an option.
Considering it was so late, and my mum had been up most of the day working, I offered to put myself behind the wheel. On one condition: I needed a coffee.
Seriously, I was also a little bit tired, and the drive to New York isn’t for the faint of heart. Coming in at about 4 hours door to door (on a good day), we picked up the coffee and put the pedal to the metal.
For the next 3.5 hours, we kept chatting about life. While I don’t usually like roadtrips, I actually appreciate them when I am with my mum, as we usually don’t get to spend this sort of time together. Whether we are talking about how far we have come in life, the mistakes we have both made, or how it has made us stronger, family is a beautiful thing.
Time flew by as we traversed through Connecticut. Before we knew it, we were passing by a family friend’s house in Greenwich and were on the home stretch into New York City. Something about that skyline is truly extraordinary, especially when you are coming in from Kennedy.
Due to how tired I was (see, I am responsible), we switched places for the last 30 minutes in New York. Not because I see myself as being incapable of driving in New York City, but just in case something happened, my mum could blame herself and not me 🥴.
All in all, we ended up arriving in New York before midnight, where I had Uber Eats (ed) some food to Hotel Elysee, and we headed off for a good night's sleep while sharing a room.
I will not review Hotel Elysee as it has just closed, but this is a decent hotel in terms of pricing, especially due to how convenient location-wise it was. I wish it were still open, but it is being renovated for the next while, sadly…
All that to say, I slept 2 hours before heading right back to the airport, to fly back to where? Providence, Rhode Island…
The Moral Of The Story
As per usual, with these sorts of posts, this isn’t necessarily about driving from Rhode Island to New York, but about a couple of deeper messages.
Firstly, it’s easy to think about a drive as being tedious (which they can be), instead of embracing time with the other passengers in the vehicle. Just the other day, I spent three hours in the car with a lovely drive from Pakistan, and we talked the whole way to East Hampton. So the moral of the story, get to know other people and their lives. It’s interesting what you can learn from people when you listen more than you talk.
Secondly, always, always, always: family first. Seriously, as an example here (and I am not usually good at it), I could have stayed in Providence, Rhode Island, but instead I wanted to help my mum out because she was tired. Yeah, it did mean that I didn’t sleep properly and was dead tired, but it helped her out. Especially if you are young and have the energy 😅.
Final Thoughts
What was supposed to be a drive that I was dreading turned out to be something much more special: forming a stronger bond with my mum. Whether you are driving from Los Angeles to Beverly or New York to Miami, I challenge you to talk more with others in the car, no matter where they are from or who they are. I know a lot of people already do, so good on you if you do!
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