Road TRIP!

National Lampoon’s Vacation

I’m in the midst of planning a 4,000 mile road trip for myself and my kids this summer.  For bonus points I wrangled another mom to join me along with her three boys.  Some quick math sums up 2 moms + 5 kids + 1 minivan + 4,000 miles = genius.  I can already picture us laughing around the dinner table 10 years from now, “Hey mom remember when you thought it would be fun to cram us all in a minivan and drive to California!”  Then, of course, hilarious tales will unfold that only can happen in a car with a 5, a 7, an 8, an 8 and a 9 year old.

My own mom had this same brilliant idea.  My older brother, sister and I would pile in the station wagon (with wood panelling) and head up to New England from Texas.  There were marathon recitations of “The Dark Crystal”, The Beatles sing alongs, spelling games that have scarred me for life (I still sweat if forced to spell in public).  We were crammed in among luggage, slept in motels, stopped at the requisite tourist attractions.  There was no GPS, no DVD players or iSomethings, it was my mom and her AAA TripTik and her spirit of adventure that caught us up in the magic of a summer road trip.

I couldn’t tell you half of what I saw on those summer trips in our station wagon but I remember us being all together, I remember having fun, I remember sleeping on floors, I remember trying to make a lollipop last for hours because it was all the entertainment I had.  I have no idea what it’s going to be like on the “mom” side of things for my own upcoming road trip.  But even if the whole thing turns out to be more difficult than I ever imagined it’ll be worth it if we have even one crazy dinner conversation about it years from now!

Wish me luck.