re The former: indeed that was a daunting first real Trip; I congratulate him for his insight in dumping the plot.
(That too, is why I never pondered such marathons) as: freeway 'touring' is just-a-day-spent resisting the Main-force of wind; boring is too kind a word.

re The latter: I too had pondered just-that: prior to my Grand Euro Tour w/passsenger, As I totted-up the er, cubic-closest-packing of a myriad of essentials plus detritus, it dawned: You Will (want to) acquire various kinds of stuff; rain and such Will-not Amuse your 'pillion'-passeneger or self ..in time.

tl'dr: My first New-car, the red Austin Healey Sprite (its 'trunk' Lid as non-existent as that maroon behemoth you depicted elsewhere): a large behind-seats, space. On the ship carrying us all back to (before dis-) US: I had sinister-ly crunched n-newspapers as a 'wall'--thence taped over that un-lockable space (the mess alone would have stopped the perp via onlooking eyes), I wotted. It worked too--no pilfering.

Fun Stuff ...travelling on this warped planet (pre-Transistors).



[Optional tale, but related sorta]
Ed:PS: Happpiness for gearheads is: discovery of a flaw within the product of a World-Std Mfg, [!!]
To wit a [Ernst] Leitz Pradovit color slide projector. Had acquired this cheaper-in-Euro device--one item needing the mentioned 'safeguarding'. Found later that: their means of adjusting focus consisted of two thin round discs, a single one operating slightly within periphery of a thinner double-disk. aka enmeshed. Trouble was: it was unreliable. Geometry made the Case: in such an array, the friction-forces ~~ cancelled-out--nearly as much drag as forward motion! Man! but that's just simple Physis! ..to boot.

Some years later [schlepping the Perp] I stopped at the Palace of these 'Leica' Masters of the world. Showed a minion The Problem. Then a [Herr Knissel] appeared: he had DESIGNED-in this er, 'slip'. Simple Cuth demanded actively re-phrasing my words about the matter. After this conciliatory exchange I left with the Demo-on-a-wall-shelf of a later, more expensive variant.
Alas though, even E. Leitz ..lacked the PR-chops, such that: it cost moi ~$60 for the 'upgrade'. as in, Heh..
(The inner-Nazi toyed with ~ "That's fine Sir, and herewith my bill for collateral damage--bringing this back: I charge $60 for any hand delivery"). But modesty forbade being, just then a Smartass. Gotta remember Karma.