As summer ends and fall creeps up on us, I thought this might be an appropriate time to reminisce on family road trips.
No one understands road trips better than my father. Early in his career, my dad was a surveyor for the State of Florida and spent hundreds of hours travelling from one beach to another surveying the coastline. Now, as an engineer, he doesn’t travel for work quite as often. However, that doesn’t mean his love for road travel has diminished even the slightest bit.
My dad truly found his soul-mate when he met my mother. She may be the one and only person who likes to travel by car as much as my father (actually, I just think she likes to hang out with my dad…whether it is in a car or not). It isn’t because they are afraid to fly, they just happen to really enjoy the scenery when traveling. So, getting from point A to point B by car makes the most sense.
When I was younger, my family would always try to take some sort of a summer trip. Sometimes, they were short trips and sometimes they were long trips. But, two things were constant. The trips were made by car, and I sat in the backseat with my younger brother.
I’d like to say that my brother and I were civil to each other during these excursions. But, I won’t lie. We weren’t. Come on!!! We were young kids! And these were the days before iPods and built in DVD players. So, you can imagine how much fun these trips were for my parents.
Needless to say, we spent a lot of ‘quality’ time together as a family. Maybe pieces of my road trips sound like some of the road trips you’ve taken in life:
Florida to New York – Purpose: Attend my mom’s high school reunion
I was 10. My mother wanted to attend her high school reunion in New York. So, my younger brother and I were going to New York for the 1st time in our lives. We started in Florida and made our way up the East Coast. Along the way, my brother started attacking me with the middle seat belt saying it was a snake, throwing it on me and screaming. Clever. My brilliant mother started a game that had the goal of spotting as many different state license plates as possible. That game helped us get through Georgia and the Carolinas.
In New York, we lived it up… Visited my mom’s friends out on Long Island and got to stay in a swanky house in the Hamptons with a pool (that is all my brother and I cared about at that age)… Ate at a fancy restaurant where my brother decided he didn’t like the food and instead wanted a hot dog… Had a canolo for the very 1st time… And got to see the Statue of Liberty. All that fun packed into one road trip.
Florida to Prince Edward Island, Canada – Purpose: Walk in the footsteps of ‘Anne’ from ‘Anne of Green Gables‘
Like many young girls, I read the ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ books. I envisioned visiting Prince Edward Island and walking in Anne’s footsteps. For some reason, my mother understood my excitement and thought that Prince Edward Island was the perfect place for us to take a summer vacation. So, off we went, in the car, driving up the East Coast, all the way to Canada. Of course we stopped at great places along the way; and then finally, crossed the border into Canada.
All I remember is how clean and beautiful it was. Certainly my father was thinking, ‘Canada, Oh Canada’ in his head.
We took a ferry over to Prince Edward Island and instantly discovered its beauty. I remember dark red sand, wild grass, green pastures and our lovely house that overlooked the beach. We rented part of a 100 year old house that overlooked the ocean for a week. We explored the island, witnessed the aurora borealis (well, my family did…I was asleep) and found Green Gables. My childhood dreams were fulfilled.
Seattle to Montana to Wyoming to California to Oregon to Seattle – Purpose: The ‘legendary’ 3 week camping trip that started off with us losing our luggage in Kansas City
Ahh…finally my favorite trip to complain about, yet the most fun to remember. Believe it or not, one year my parents decided to FLY. You heard me right! We flew all the way out to Seattle for a 3 week camping trip that would start right after we left the Seattle airport. First, we had to make it to Seattle.
No trip is complete without some kinks, and this trip had plenty. Due to weather, our flight was cancelled; and we were stuck in Kansas City. Of course, our luggage was shipped off to another city as we were escorted to a hotel for the evening. We made it to Seattle the next day, our luggage didn’t. Luckily, we were able to stay with friends until our bags arrived about 3 days later. Then, we were off, gear in hand. Bound and determined to conquer the wild west.
We drove up into Canada and then over and down into Montana to see Glacier National Park. Yes, camping the whole way. I like camping and all, but a 3 week camping trip for a teenage girl is just too much. Then, my parents thought it would be great fun to relive memories from their honeymoon. So, we went to Wyoming and hiked various trails in the Tetons. Then, we zig zagged across the great west…singing ‘Lion King’ songs the whole way. We finally stayed at a hotel to take a normal shower in San Francisco. YAY!!! I could write an entire entry about this camping adventure, but I’ll spare you the details today.
It has taken me years to get over the trauma of being a teenage girl who has to deal with semi-primitive camping conditions for 3 weeks. But now, looking back, I can see how very special that trip was. Our whole family was together. Enjoying the scenery. Not worrying about work or school or anything back home. We were just living.
Remember, life is a highway…
