I have been taking family road trips for as long as I can remember. As a child, we took summer vacations every year… always by car. I never even stepped foot on a plane until I was 26 years old. And, now, my husband and I travel fairly often with the kids… again, always by car.
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Family Road Trips
When I was about 12 years old we began taking yearly family road trips from Texas to California and then back around another route. We covered 10 states in 10 days. I believe we made this trip 4 times. It was normally just me, my parents, brother, sister, and grandparents. The second year it was a large caravan that included several of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We had such an amazing time and made so many memories. The last trip we made like this was the summer I was 17. I was already dating my (now) husband for over a year and he made the trip with us.
My son wants desperately to make this same trip. He has asked us for the past 2 years but we have not yet been able to get the funds or make the plans to go. I would love to share those memories with my kids. We would stop at Carlsbad Caverns,White Sands, the Grand Canyon, Tombstone, the Painted Dessert, Yuma (where my mom was born), San Diego, the Redwood Forest, Yosemite, Salt Lake City, 4 Corners, Laramie (WY), Kansas, Oklahoma, and back home to Texas. I think I got the main points… although maybe not in order. There were so many great times and I often hear songs that take me back to that time on the road. We hope to take the trip soon with our children!
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But, my kids have had their fair share of road trips as well. Other than trips within Texas to Galveston or San Antonio (as recent as this past weekend), we have driven as close as Oklahoma to visit my grandparents cabin and as far as Ohio for a blog conference. Yes, we packed all but our oldest up and drove to Ohio last summer. Our oldest took a road trip the other direction to Utah to go on a mission trip. The rest of us enjoyed scenic countrysides through Tennessee and Kentucky as we made our way north.
One of the most fun road trips we had was while I was pregnant with baby #5. We, along with my parents, drove to Daytona Beach, Florida. Even with a flat tire on the way there and plenty of crazy storms on the way back, we had an amazing time. Driving down the Gulf was a nice change of scenery for us and the fun we had while there was priceless.
I much prefer road trips. Over the past year I have flown by myself to conferences and other press events… but, as a family, we prefer to drive. There is something to be said about the open road and car full of crazy family members to keep you going.
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What was your favorite road trip? What is the longest you have driven?
We had 8 people in our SUV as we drove to Florida, plus all of our luggage. Have you driven in similar conditions? I would love to hear about your road trips!
About Staci
my family always took last minute road trips to the beach and we still do that with our kids
I love family road trips they are so fun!
My favorite road trip was across the southern states to New Orleans.
favorite road trip was from Florida to North Carolina! Not too long.
California for sure!
That is an awesome car. When we go on road trips, far away, we like to rent something really nice like that but otherwise we use our own car and still have a great time, making memories!
my dog & I drove 21 hours straight from So Cal to central Texas in order to be there for Valentine’s dinner with my childhood sweetheart
My favorite road trip was driving to Georgia with my best friend and my 11 month old daughter in 2003. So fun!
I haven’t experienced family road trips but the way I see it it could been a fun activity.