By Kirsten Scott
When I was a kid, we drove everywhere. Grandparent's house, vacations, thirteen hours, three days...we did it all. My sister and I wrestled in the back-back of the station wagon. No seat belts, no car seats. We made a nest of blankets, had our tape recorder, played some games. We fought. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The memories are good. My mom suffered, but we did just fine.
Now that I've got kids of my own, we live too far away to drive home for visits. My kids have been riding in planes since they were six months old. We've traveled across the country for years, but our longest car rides number two or three hours, not thirteen.
This year, everything changes.
This year, our family does its first road trip.
It's time. The kids are nine and seven -- old enough to entertain themselves, or at least sit still for several hours at a time. Flying sucks. The airlines have made air travel so unpleasant, it's worth sitting in a car for thirteen hours to avoid it. We're trying to save a little money, and spring break is coming up. We wanted to go to San Francisco to visit friends and family, but can't afford to fly. I haven't been to Yosemite for many years, and if we drive, we could stop there on our way.
So we're off. In three weeks, we begin the road trip to San Francisco via Sacramento and Yosemite National Park. And I'm starting to panic.
What will we do for ten hours in the car? How will we survive? I'm thinking a great book on tape, like Harry Potter, and some of those magnetic travel games, like Connect Four and Othello. But it's going to be tense. I predict the time space continuum will close in around us and ten hours will turn into twenty.
Now that I've got kids of my own, we live too far away to drive home for visits. My kids have been riding in planes since they were six months old. We've traveled across the country for years, but our longest car rides number two or three hours, not thirteen.
This year, everything changes.
This year, our family does its first road trip.
It's time. The kids are nine and seven -- old enough to entertain themselves, or at least sit still for several hours at a time. Flying sucks. The airlines have made air travel so unpleasant, it's worth sitting in a car for thirteen hours to avoid it. We're trying to save a little money, and spring break is coming up. We wanted to go to San Francisco to visit friends and family, but can't afford to fly. I haven't been to Yosemite for many years, and if we drive, we could stop there on our way.
So we're off. In three weeks, we begin the road trip to San Francisco via Sacramento and Yosemite National Park. And I'm starting to panic.
What will we do for ten hours in the car? How will we survive? I'm thinking a great book on tape, like Harry Potter, and some of those magnetic travel games, like Connect Four and Othello. But it's going to be tense. I predict the time space continuum will close in around us and ten hours will turn into twenty.
So I'm coming to you, Banditas and Buddies, for help. Remind me how to survive a road trip. Tell me about the trips you took as a child. Did you camp out in the back of the station wagon, like my sister and I did? Did you fight? Did your parents threaten to "stop this car!" if you didn't behave? Any tricks I can use to prevent the black hole where time does not pass?
HELP!!
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