The Family Road Trip Culture - Some of my fondest childhood memories are directly connected to the road trips my family took when I was a child. With my dad as the road trip planner, and my mom in charge of everything else, our family road trips were a great bonding experience. Be it the plains of Alberta on a Canadian road trip, where the wheat fields never seem to end, or the time we took a USA road trip to Washington, D.C., a road trip brings families closer together, and a good road trip creates memories that last a lifetime. It is the most common type of vacation in North America, and it is no wonder why. In fact, some highways are so well known that they are featured in both songs and movies. From Route 66 to California’s Highway 1, let's face it, some of these roads are just simply legendary. So let's get started.
Road Trip Planning - The Right Way
As the saying goes, "Fail to plan, then plan to fail". The best road trips I have been on had themes, and were well-planned. Yet they were still flexible enough to allow for spontaneity. There is nothing wrong with an impromptu trip stop for breaks, picture-takings or to just absorb the surroundings, or with intentionally "getting lost" every once in a while. Start your plans by establishing the basics - dates, budget and destination(s). A fun way to plan a road trip is to involve the family in the process, and collaborate each member's contributions on what attractions to see and activities to do. The planning itself makes for lively dinner conversations and hypes up the anticipation level for everyone.
By planning carefully, you can consider a lot of travel options ahead, and decide on which hotel you want to stay, what places to visit, and even the restaurants you would like to try. Planning a road trip is especially useful when you only have limited vacation time or a very rigid time slot. Planning helps you understand what there is to see and do at each location, and also helps raise questions that you may need to research further for answers. You can get a sense of what the trip will cost and calculate the driving distances between locations. One of the wonderful things about road trips is that you can explore at all budget levels.
Road trips come in all shapes and sizes, and just the words evoke a sense of adventure! A very cool way to travel is to plan a theme for your trip. For example, you can set out on a planned road trip to see all the national parks such as Sequoia National Park and Kings National Park, in your state. Or take part in the World’s Longest Yard Sale, which stretches across 450 miles and over three states ("I Drove, I Stopped, I Shopped until I Dropped!"). Or make it an environmental road trip, where you drive along the coastline, play all day by the beaches but get everyone together for a fifteen-minute beach clean-up before you leave. Head North, East, South or West (unless you live by the ocean). The choice is yours!
One way you can handle traveling is to plan every single stop and not deviate from the original plan. This may sound restrictive but it actually gives you the freedom and the time to explore the places that initially interested you. Sometimes, if you make too many unplanned stops along the way, you will find yourself rushing through the main destination on your list!
Another way is to do a combination of both and plan some parts of your road trip, but also be flexible with the deviations from your path. Funny isn’t it? Planning some free time - an oxymoron. It works, though. If you have an extended amount of time with which to explore, constructing a basic plan and then allowing flexibility to change or add to that plan allows for a more relaxed feeling all throughout the trip. This method of traveling is, in my opinion, the best because it gives you a guide of your plans, but it also allows you the opportunity to change them in case something interesting pops up that is just too compelling to pass up!
However, before you leave, remember The Four P's:
1. Plan your trip
2. Prepare for the road
3. Pack right
4. Pick your battles on the road to ensure all goes smoothly (especially useful for family road trips)
Remember to think of Road Trip Safety, and make sure your vehicle is ready with some Pre Trip Maintenance.
Think of some fun Road Trip Games for entertainment, and most of all... have fun!
Plan
Your Visit
