The Paper Towns Road Trip Map

It's about 2pm. Quentin is getting ready for graduation, contemplating (what else?) Margo Roth Spiegelman. He starts looking at random city pages on Omnictionary and happens across the entry for Agloe, NY. The phrase "paper town" pops out at him, and he looks at the talk page where he sees the following comment posted 15 days before: "fyi, whoever Edits this—the Population of agloe Will actually be One until may 29th at Noon."

This is it. Quentin knows this is Margo. The capitalization is a dead giveaway. So he grabs his clothes, jumps in the car, and speeds over to graduation to tell his parents that he has to go.

Radar, Ben, and Lacey intercept Q at graduation and insist on joining his quest. The first hour is spent calling parents, calculating the time it will take to get to Algoe, and counting provisions.

Quentin is driving, going 63 mph in the left lane of I-4.

Radar calculates that they'll need to stop four times, and they'll have to average 72 miles per hour in order to make it there by the noon deadline. Quentin nervously increases his speed to 72, with his new van shaking in response.

Lacey takes stock of supplies: 212 beers (left over from Ben's party), half a Snickers, printed out directions to Agloe, 8 sticks of Wintergreen gum, 1 pencil,
tissues, 3 tampons, 1 pair sunglasses, ChapStick, keys, YMCA membership card, library card, miscellaneous receipts, $35, and a BP gas card.

Ben begins complaining about needing to pee.

Quentin turns north onto I-95, where they drive along the coast, skinny pine trees obscuring their view of the water.

To pass the time, they start playing a version of I Spy where they are only allowed to spy things that cannot be seen.

Radar: I Spy with my little eye something tragically hip.
Answer: Failing to turn in your rented graduation robes on time.

They're just north of Jackson, and Ben's need to pee is no longer funny. They dump out a beer so he can pee into the empty bottle. But relief suddenly turns to fear as the first bottle fills up too quickly. A couple minutes later, the beer count is down to 210 and two full bottles get thrown out the window, much to Radar's disgust.

The first BP stop has been meticulously planned; everyone has a role:

Radar starts pumping gas, then runs the BP card into the store to start ringing up purchases.

Lacey is on liquids—soda, energy drinks, bottled water.

Quentin is the food man— chips, beef jerky, peanuts, Mentos, Snickers, Nerds, turkey sandwiches, Starburstm Twinkies, GoFast nutrition bars, crackers … and there was something else, right?

Ben starts with a bathroom break and then gets on non-perishable supplies—T-shirts, sunglasses, NoDoze, etc.
 

Lacey begins sorting their supplies, which leads to two startling revelations:

1. Quentin has forgotten to get any kind of healthy food.

2. Ben has inadvertently grabbed racist T-shirts with big Confederate flags and the slogan "Heritage Not Hate."

They start hitting traffic just south of Florence, South Carolina. To pass the time and ease their nerves, Radar and Q play That Guy Is a Gigolo—a game where you imagine the lives of the people in the cars around you.

Ben takes NyQuil and gets strapped into the middle seat to sleep.

They finally pass a jackknifed truck—the reason for the slowdown. Radar recalculates their time and determines that they will now have to average 77 mph in order to make it to Algoe by noon.

Lacey straps herself in and goes to sleep in the way back seat.

Quentin can't take it anymore and finally has to break down and pee for the first time in the car. He uses a Bluefin energy drink bottle and becomes mesmerized with how turquoise the liquid turns when mixed with his pee. Radar is disgusted and makes him throw it out the window, where the bottle bursts on the pavement like a water balloon.

The highway finally begins emptying out. It's just them and the semis.

It's time for the second stop! Q plays the Beatles' "Good Morning" to wake everyone up. The big purchase is a new, non-racist shirt for Radar that reads: "World's Best Grandma."

Construction narrows the highway down to one lane, and they're stuck behind a tractor trailer going 35 mpg. Frustrated, they stop at an all-night gas station so Lacey can pee.

It's 2:40am. The road is deserted. It's just Quentin and Ben in the front seat when two cows suddenly appear in the middle of the highway. Quentin brakes hard, knowing they're going to make impact, but Ben reaches over and deftly grabs the wheel, veering them to the right and out of harms way.

Miraculously, no one is injured. But the car grazes a fence, leaving a deep gouge down the side of the door that Radar calculates will cost $300 to repair. Also, the impact shatters all 210 remaining beers, creating a foamy waterfall of alcohol in the back of the van.

The group discusses the miracle of not dying.

Lacey tries to clean up the car as the sun begins to rise slightly.

Q finally agrees to some sleep.

Quentin wakes, greeted by Ben and Radar trying to name the car.

 

Ben wants to name it Muhammad Ali (because it takes a punch and keeps going); Radar wants to call it Lurlene (because it sounds right); but Quentin wins with "The Dreidel" (because the harder you spin it, the better it performs).
 

This is it. A perfect moment. Rolling hills out the window and a group of friends singing Blister in the Sun at the top of their lungs.

They exit the highway and turn onto a two-lane state highway that goes north toward the Catskills. They drive through Roscoe, cross railroad tracks, see a cafe, clothing store, dollar store, and boarded-up store fronts. The highway turns into Cat Hollow Road, and they drive until they see another dirt road leading to a crumbling barn-like structure with grayed wood.

This is where they will find Margo Roth Spiegelman.