It's a family road trip!

I am one of seven...six brothers all older.  Yes all older.  I also was not a happy travelier or so my whole family will tell you.  Well, I was about 7 and I was sitting on my oldest brothers lap (this was before car seats and seat belts) I kept telling my dad that I had to go to the bathroom, but no one seemed to listen...until...well lets just say that my brother was not happy with me.  From that day forward I sat in the front seat with my parents and no one ever ignored my request to stop.  Which was fine with me, And that story is still told everytime we get together. Matter of fact they even ask if I have to go when we are out.

When I was 7 my family moved by car to arizona. We traveled to Miame florida to see our sister then through texas and then to arizona.That was a great road trip. We took out the back seat of our car and packed what we could and my brother and I sat on the stuff and watched the road all the way to arizona.  Needless to say our mom was so happy to get us out of the car.  

i

When I was ten my family & I drove to Florida from Ohio in Ford Escort. My father refused to go faster than 45 mph and it took us three days to get there! My brother who is now 6'2" and weighs 280 lbs. was spread eagle in between our younger sister & I the whole way. Being the energy conservationist that my dad was, he refused to turn on the air conditioning and only rolled down the windows a quarter of an inch to prevent wind drag that would not make the trip fuel efficient. At the time we were mortified that the truckers and other motorists were angry enough to give my dad not so friendly gestures the whole three days of road travel. Despite it all, it was the best family vacation we had and the most memorable!

When I had just turned 15 1/2 and got my permit, my family was taking a road trip cross country and in kansas my mom decided it was time I got some highway driving experience. Well, we pulled over on an off ramp and I took the wheel. First off, I almost crashed into a car when I was entering on the highway. Then within FIVE minutes a bird flew into our windshield AND I got a flat tire... to this day, my Mom still won't let me drive her anywhere... I'm 23.
-Michael-
Portland, OR

you should make it easier to win things

Hey! I when I was on a roadtrip when I was moving to North Carolina when I was 12, we had a full car. We had a washer, a dryer, two huge suitcases, other various bags, a cooler, two dogs, my mom, my dad, and my brother. It was around 5pm and we were about to stop at a rest stop when my brother handed the dog up to me (after it hasd been eating. He was squeezing her stomach as he handed her over to me and the dog barfed on me! I had a blanket over me b/c it was cold, so that was good. But she still threw up one me! Eww. Haha. I went to the bathroom at the rest stop and had to clean myself, the dog, and the blanket off. Then I had to dry everything with a little wimpy hand dryer. Haha

Hey! I when I was on a roadtrip when I was moving to North Carolina when I was 12, we had a full car. We had a washer, a dryer, two huge suitcases, other various bags, a cooler, two dogs, my mom, my dad, and my brother. It was around 5pm and we were about to stop at a rest stop when my brother handed the dog up to me (after it hasd been eating. He was squeezing her stomach as he handed her over to me and the dog barfed on me! I had a blanket over me b/c it was cold, so that was good. But she still threw up one me! Eww. Haha. I went to the bathroom at the rest stop and had to clean myself, the dog, and the blanket off. Then I had to dry everything with a little wimpy hand dryer. Haha

When I was five and my sister three, my family drove down from Anchorage, Alaska to Redlands, California so my parents could complete their training to be missionaries in Indonesia. As you can imagine, us two little girls were not happy about being stuck in the car for about 2 weeks, but some friends from our home church came up with something to brighten our spirits. They gave each of us girls a little suitcase and inside were 14 little presents wrapped in tissue paper. They told us we could only open one a day; this made each new day exciting cause we had a new toy to play with, and our parents were happy cause we could entertain ourselves happily in the backseat.

I'm 17 and last summer I went on my first All-State Choir tour. I'm from Alaska and it takes a while to get anywhere. While we were driving to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, two of us started singing "There's a Hole in the Bucket Dear Liza" Then we were handed a walkie-talkie and started singing to the van behind us. We got to right after the "Then fix it dear Henry" Before the other van's radio died. Those were the best two weeks of that year. And that group of 20 some young people are some of the closest in the entire district.

-Anchorage, Ak-

When I was 10 my parents and I went to Prince Rupert, British Columbia to visit with a family friend.  While we were there we took a little side trip in the friends pick up truck.  Of course there was only room in the cab for the 3 adults so I got to ride in the back in the canopy on a 10 hour trip to a little speck on the map called Hyder, Alaska.  The worst part was there were 300 baby chicks in the back with me.  Can you imagine the noise and the smell?  The sights were incredible and to this day I feel blessed to have been able to view up close the glaciers, but thinking of those chicks just makes me shutter!

When I was eight and my brother six we were traveling with my mother and sisters up to Oregon.  We had stopped for a short break and were ready to head out.  My mom asked my brother if there were any cars behind us (we had one of those huge vans not the minivans they have now).  My brother said no, so my mother started backing up....then we heard a crunch.  My mom immediately stopped and yelled back to my brother, "i thought you said there was nothing behind us!".  He very smartly replied, "There are no cars, but there is a pole, you didn't ask me about that".  Let's just say we never forgot that trip.

For our Senior Spring Break trip this year, 5 of us life-long friends planned a trip to drive to Florida and then hop on a Cruise through the Bahamas!

After 24 hours of driving, we were FINALLY 1 hour away from the boat, when a tanker exploded right in front of us!! We sat for 3 hours on a highway in the middle of the Everglades until finally we were redirected the only other route to Miami. We were surrounded by really impatient drivers, though we were in the biggest hurry of all--trying to make our ship which was about to take off!  Suddenly, traffic halted AGAIN. THIS time, there was an accident that claimed several lives! Needless to say, we had to wait another 3 hours...MISSING OUR BOAT due to being stranded in the Everglades!

The next day, we had to fly down to Nassau, Bahamas to catch up with the boat due to an EVENTFUL ROAD TRIP!

Years ago we loaded a 57 Chevy station wagon  with our belongings and a trailer behind it... leaving from Oregon,going to Texas... carrying a very upset horse inside the trailer. The horse was held in place in the trailer with a mattress on each side of it. We also had other animals inside the car with us, 4 large cats, two small dogs, and a very big German Shepard, who was very pregnant at the time. We had a u-joint go out in the car and had to stop for repairs and deal with all the "critters" while we waited for it to be repaired. Just when we felt it couldn't get any worse, out on the road again, the Shepard gave birth to 13 puppies! Thank goodness they all did well, but we were never so happy as when we drove up to the new house in Texas!

Hi Scott & Kelli
My family drove from N.Y. to CA in a Chevy Caprice Classic station wagon . It took us 8 weeks to get out here , there was a spot in IL where you couldn't make any noise . We were in Rockford , IL . The place was called Buffalo campground , we called it Buffalo Chips because of the rules & regualtions a mile long plus the gross restrooms . We went to an RV Park later that night & got poured on , that wasn't fun . We all went to higher ground & almost got ran over by an RV . The highlight of the trip was when my brothers & my dad slept in the rest stops & the sprinklers went on around 3 AM We went to San Diego to visit an uncle & cousins , we also went to Scottsdale , Reno , Vegas Niagra Falls , Western PA . we went to Yellostone & The Grand Tetons rode horses in the pouring rain & left , we had so many stuffed animals from Circus Circus in Reno & Vegas , I was about 17 & put a penny in the slot machine & got caught . We also saw a Dodger game & went to the Great Salt Lake , what a tourist trap that was .My dad taught all of us how to drive before we had our licenses @ The Bonniville Salt flats , we drove on the interstate @ 80 MPH .

When I was about 8 years old, my dad had orders to be stationed in Germany.  That was a big road trip.  We drove from Ft Hood, Texas to New Jersey where we caught our flight to Germany.  There were 6 kids with the youngest being my brother who was probably about 6 months old at the time ( he will be 40 this year).  We drove in a station wagon with a back seat that faced backwards.  We counted license plates from different states, etc.  The things I remember most, is back then not all hotels had pools and we were told that if we were good we would be able to stay at a hotel with a pool, that was exciting.  Another thing I remember  is going through Mississippi and the weather was getting bad so we stopped for the evening, and later that night one town over a tornado hit.  What a memory.  Theresia. Killeen, TX    

My mom was taking me from Tucson to Phoenix for a school competition. Not a long trip, but this was the first time we were going so far without my step-dad, and the first time my mom ever had a cell phone. So, we're on the road, and my step-dad calls. The phone is ringing, and my Grandma who came with us, who is sitting in the front seat, goes, "Aren't you going to answer it?" And my mom just looks at it, and then at her, and goes, "I don't know how!" She had learned how to make outgoing calls, but this was her first incoming call, and she had no idea how to answer her own phone! Eleven years later, she still hasn't lived it down!

When I was a small child, maybe 4 or 5, my family went on a road trip. I don't even remember where we went or anything about the trip itself. But on the way back, about 30 minutes away from home, we had to stop at a rest area for my mom and sister to use the bathroom. While my dad and I were waiting by the car for them to return, I played in the rocks with the tiny dinosaur toy I had been allowed to take along. When I got home, I suddenly realized I didn't have the toy anymore, and I started crying. The dinosaur couldn't have been more than an inch long, and night had already fallen, and we weren't even sure if the toy was at the rest stop but that's where we guessed it was. So my dad drove the 30 minutes back to the rest stop with a flashlight and searched the rocks until he found my dinosaur and brought it back to me. That is my best memory of a road trip, because it is one of the nicest things my father has ever done for me.

We just returned from a road trip. My wife and I drove up to Three Hills Alberta canada to pick up our 20 yr old daughter from Prairie Bible Institute. On the way, I locked the car keys in the rental car. I left the video camera sitting on our piano at home. We drove almost 1800 miles, had rain, hail, snow, wind and sun, all in the same day. IT still turned out to be a good trip

When we were kids we lived in the country on a gravel road.  When we were in the car with all the windows rolled down ( long before air conditioning ) and the driver saw a car or truck coming towards us he'd yell " Roll up the windows" and we'd all start cranking as fast as we could to roll up the wondows before the dust from the other vehicle could fill the car!

Well, this wasn't really a road trip because we actually did stay the night at where we were at. But I was with a youth group and we went to Luther College in Decorah, IA for a Church Youth Fest.  We were on our way home and we almost ran into a doe, we almost ran into a buck, and we got a ticket.  Sounds like fun doesn't it?  

I am the 5th child out of 6 and I am 50 when we were growing up here in KY. we would take day trips on the weekend.  I remember one Saturday we were going to Pine Mountain State Park and my Dad had a chevy pickup (this was before seat belt laws) we loaded up, all of us kids got in the back and covered up with a blanket. My Dad stopped to get gas and we were covered completely up and the gas attendent was putting the gas in the truck and one of my sisters stuck her hand out and tip the attendent and it scared him so bad that he dropped the gas hose and gas went every where.  My Dad passed away in 2006 these road trips we took are such wonderful memories that I will cherish for ever. I encourage any family to do this when they can.

I was on a mission trip to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona the summer after my junior year of high school. We had a big van with about eight students and two youth leaders plus all of our stuff for about two weeks. We drove down to Arizona from Washington and always happened to see roadkill on the road near sinclair gas stations. It got to the point where we were very tired and ended up calling all of the road-kill sinclair. It was partly because one of our group members hated to hear anything of road-kill. To this day, I still call it sinclair, no matter who I am with. I hope to always remember everything from that roadtrip...including having to shower in the cold showers on the reservation and the boys all sing a song about Boise, Idaho ("It's Boise, Boise, Boise, Idaho") over and over again.

Thank you for the great show.

Wendy now from Tulsa, OK

PS - during the mission trip I was living on the Peninsula of Washington State.

Back in 1973 my brother, sister, and I took off from Indiana to Washington State in a Cross Country Rambler that my brother had bought for $50.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to its name - it broke down only after 100 miles.  Our dad came to the rescue and rented a car for us, but our adventures were not over.  We stopped at a campground for the night, where my sister slept on the hood, I slept in the car, and my brother was under a nearby tree.  In the middle of the night, I rolled over and accidentally hit the horn.  Needless to say, my sister awoke in terror and my brother rolled on the ground with laughter.

First I want to say you guys are such a blessing to me. I really enjoy my ride home in the afternoons because of you. When I was 17 my parents took my brothers and me to Lido Beach in Sarasota, FL. After spending the day at the beach we went to get waffle cones from TCBY (just as they came out). My father is a diabetic so my mom only let him have a banana. While stopped at a traffic light, with all kinds of people walking around my father decides to pretend he is shooting these people. He stuck the banana out the window and would yell bang or pow as load as he could. You never saw a 17 year old teenage girl hit the floor board so fast. Not great then but my favorite story now. And yes, I do things to embarrass my teenage girls. God Bless you guys!!!!

I went on a trip to the Grand Canyon (in the 60's) with a youth group from Scottsdale, AZ, with 21 people in 3 cars!  We had to drive on a 64-mile long dirt road to get to the trail head where we would hike down into the Canyon for a couple of days.  We had a really great time at the Canyon.  Upon returning to the cars however, the lady in whose car I was riding locked her keys in her purse in the trunk, but she had a spare ignition key, so off we went, the last of the 3 cars.  Wouldn't you know we got a flat on the long dirt road and the other cars ahead had taken off and left us, thinking we were still following.  There was VERY little traffic on that road, and when someone finally came along several hours later with some tools to help us take out the back seat so we could get into the trunk, we finally got the tire changed and took off, only to get another flat later on after getting onto the highway.  So a 7 hour trip took 14 and the state police stopped us because folks back at church called them to look for us since we were so long overdue.  We finally got back at 5 AM after 7 of us were crammed in that big old Chrysler Imperial for almost the whole time!!

When my dad decided to go to photography school in California for 9 months, we spent the summer before and the summer after crossing the country east to west and then west to east.  We'd never camped before, but to spend all those weeks on the road, it made the most sense, so we bought a pop-up tent trailer and set off.  I laughed when you talked about no air conditioning, because we sure didn't have that.  We considered naming the pop-up "the Rainmaker" as we even had rain in Death Valley when we went through. When we neared Utopia Texas, my dad had us stuff our bandannas and tie them on sticks to take the family picture in front of the sign!  My parents had always been road-trip people, but that was the ultimate and the memories are priceless.

This is actually my daddy's story. When my daddy was younger and still single him along with his best friend and two brothers were on a road trip. Now, you have to understand they are all Cajuns from Marksville, La. They had a flat tire so they pulled over and all got out to fix it. They got to talking, all at the same time and not paying attention. Once they were done they discovered they had changed the wrong tire. They got to laughing so hard they all fell into the ditch. I can just picture this. I heard this story for the first time at my daddy's funeral this past October. my uncle told it during the service, I wish I could hear my daddy tell it to me.

In 1989 our young foster children had just returned to their parent, and I desperately wanted to sieze the opportunity while we were young-child-free to take a road trip to visit my sister in Gloucester, MA. The only way we could afford to do it was to take my car (a VW Rabbit) which was diesel and very economical.  Somehow we managed to put myself, my husband, and our three kids (ages 15, 13, 9), and all our luggage in that tiny little car.

We made it from our home in Lancaster, PA to Gloucester without any major issues. The next day we somehow added my sister to the carload for a drive into Boston!  (No seatbelt laws, I guess!). On the drive back to Gloucester that evening the car started to malfunction, probably protesting the load!  Within a mile of my sister's house it completely quit. We had to bale out and push the car to a side street to get it out of the way of traffic, which was totally mortifying to our cool 15-year-old daughter!  But there was nothing to do but laugh as someone yelled at us, "Are you having fun?" Actually we were!  We could easily walk to my sister's house from there - much better than if it had quit in Boston.

The next day we had it repaired, and the "little engine that could" got us back home to Lancaster without a problem.

Many years ago, right after my I graduated from High School, I took a road trip with my mom, younger sister, older sister and her children, my two nieces. With two girls under 4 we were pressed to keep them entertained. One way that worked every time was when I would read them Dr. Seuss's 'Green Eggs & Ham'. Needless to say 5 hours into the trip I'd already read it close to 30 times. Later that evening after it got dark I was in the back seat, and my niece who was fighting sleep asked me to read it again. Without hesitation I began at the beginning. About 5 'pages' in my mom, who was driving at the time told me to stop reading in the dark because it was bad for my eyes. My sister who was sitting next to her in the front said, 'Mom, I have the book right here.' :-D

Our pastor has told us this story so many times and each time I laugh. They were on a road trip, and the three young boys were all in the back seat. As most young siblings they were fighting. After many warnings Dad finally pulled the car over and disciplined them all. He told the boys he did not want to hear another word until they were given permission. About 40 or so minutes of quite and many miles down the road dad gave them permission to speak. Right away the middle son, says, "dad, when you spanked me back there my shoe fell off"...When asked why he did not tell dad earlier the young man said "you told us not to talk."  Needless to say, they turned the car around to go find his shoe.

When I was growing up my older brother and I would always go and volunteer our whole summers. We would drive up to a Christian camp in Wisconsin. We would spend 2 months straight up there never coming back home to Chicago. When we finally cam home at the end of August so much stuff would have change that we had to relearn where things where in our neigbhorhood.

When I was 9yrs. old, my mother took my little sister and my older brother and I on a road trip across the unitd states. This journey would take about 1 yr. Alot of memorable events took place, but one that we still laugh about today is when my little sister Tiffany, then 3yrs.old piped in on a conversation that my mom and I were having about how long it would take for Samantha, a weenie dog that we had rescued from an intersection, while on our road trip, to have her puppies, "oh, I forgot to mention she was pregnant when we found her" Now, keep in mind, my baby sister would entertain herself with this audio weenie~the~poo book, the one where poo got himself stuck in a bee hive hole in a tree and couldn't get out because he ate too much honey, and in the story one asked the rabbit how long poo would be stuck in the hole and rabbits reply was, "days,weeks,months, who knows!" So...when I asked my mom how long it would take for our dog to have her puppies, my lil'sister blurts out, "Days,weeks,months, who knows!" And I was eating an orange at the time and my mom was sitting directly across from me in our motor home, and we were so shocked by what this 3yr.old had just said, that we started laughing sooo...hard that I spit orange pulp out of my mouth and it landed all over my moms face...which made us laugh even harder. Iam laughing as I type this....this is a genuine memory that brings a loving smile and gut glorious laugh to all of us everytime! "Oh to have memories" Price~Less!

Back in the early 1980,s my parents were raising 3 teens. To save on the cost of providing transportation for us, my dad would travel from Michigan to North Carolina for a deal on late model (60's) cars. one of these trips involved a "66" Ford Falcoln. we rode with my aunt down to be able to drive this car home. Everything seem to be in working order for this trip home. we stopped by a bread store,you could get day old snacks cheap,and loaded the car. about 150 miles down the road our luck ran out. this trip was made in the middle of Dec, and the weather turned cold. thats when we found out that there was no heat, due to the thermostat was stuck (open). we had a tire to blow out half way home, with no spare and at late at night. when we finally repaired the tire and continued on our way home, it was extremly cold. the cakes by the way were frozen by this time. we had no blankets and took turns riding with my aunt who had followed us to thaw out. This trip that should have taken 12 hours lasted to a total of 18 hours. Now every trip we take on this route is always compared to this one trip. It is one that is still talked about at family gatherings.

We used to go camping every summer for two or three weeks.  We had a classic Volkswagon camper with a pop-up top.  We'd stay at KOAs and other campgrounds.  There were lots of great experiences and some pretty funny ones too!  One that I remember was one night my dad was trying to make it as far as he could to our next stop so he drove late into the night before finally just pulling over onto the side of the road from exhaustion.  We popped up the old top and were quickly fast asleep, until.....about 5:00 in the morning, while it was still pitch black, we woke up to the sound of a train horn and lights, and it sounded and looked like it was coming right at us!  After it (thankfully) zoomed on by, my dad got out and looked and we had parked only about 50 yards from a railroad track!  Talk about a rude awakening!  And, though I didn't know God at that point in my life, wow, I sure know He was watching out for us that night!

And please give a clue for the roadtrip!!!!!

The lady who told about when she and her brother were young they took a road trip with their parents in the storage compartment of their El Camino brought back memories of my best friends MGb. In high school in the late 60's we occasionally double dated in this car and it only had 2 seats. So good to be young.

I'm only 15, but I have gone to WI too many times to count.  That's where almost all my family lives.  I remember one year, I was only 5 or 6, and my whole family was getting ready to go on our 2 day journey.  I'm child number 4 out of 5.  We had this big van that we'd ride in the whole way up. This year when we left,we weren't on the road more than an hour when we had to turn around and come home. Our van had a gas leak. We got home, put it in the shop and left our suitcases packed.  A few days later we were on the road again.  This time we got about 4 hours away from home when the van broke down again!  So for the second time our trip was interupted.  We had to stay at a gas station, all 7 of us, and call a tow truck to take the van home and a cab to take us to rent a car so we could get home!!  Looking back it was quite funny.   After the van was fixed for the second time, can't remember what went wrong, we were on the road for the third time!  This time we had no problems and had a wonderful time visiting with family up in WI!
I just wanted to share my very crazy road trip story with you guys. We're heading back to WI again this summer in July!  This year there's only 3 going. :-(  My mom, sister, and me.  All the rest of my family are grown and gone.  Man, it's hard to belive how the time flys!

Himming tape like some one eles said.
  I love choco.Ice cream . Have you trid choc and cake batter ice cream together. Have a great day.

I'm still laughing you gave us the answer earlier!

My parents always took us on a summer vacation when growing up. We usually camped out. My Dad was notorious for not stopping until well after dark. One year, we were in South Dakota.I was probably 12-13. There were no campgrounds to be found so we stopped at a roadside park. Well, some rowdy people showed up and we climbed back in the car and headed off. It was probably midnight. We had to sleep in the car for a while because of rain. We finally found a secluded grassy place to throw our sleeping bags. I woke up to cows mooing and standing over me!! Then, on our way to town, we ran out of gas. That too was not unusual. Now that I am a "mature" adult, I am so thankful that my parents took the time to take us across the US and learn the history. God truly has blessed me and I am so thankful for my family.

My family and I are very fond of our 36 hour drive from Las Vegas,NV to Ocala,FL. And yes my parents drove 36 hrs without stoping, except for bathroom and OF COURSE STARBUCKS breaks. oh... Im with you Kellie CHOCOLATE!!!!!

I was raised in the 1950's when cars didn't have air conditioners and you rode with the windows down. It was also a time when tabacco products were not considered to be bad for your health. My dad chewed tabacco and would spit out the window, unfortunately, who ever rode behind him would most of the time get a face full of tabacco. So my brother and I always fought for the seat behind mom. When dad asked why we were fighting, we told him. He told us he would yell "spit" and we would know to duck. One time one of my brother's friends went with us and we all raced to the car; my brother and I racing to get behind mom and his friend racing to get behind dad. We didn't say a word; we just looked at each other and grinned. We were going at a pretty good speed when dad yelled "spit". We looked at Mike and his hair was blowing in the wind and he had this big old grin on his face and was so happy and then all of a sudden he had a face full of tabacco. We laughed and laughed; he had such a shocked look on his face and all he said was "thanks". Bless my mom she had a wet wash cloth so Mike got to clean himself up but he never rode behind dad again.

I was 15 at the time and we were going to Montana for a Family Reunion with our Montana folk. We had just passed the Oklahoma - Texas border went over a set of RR tracks and I felt a funny little bump. The homemade trailor we had attached to the back of our Van had flipped off the Van hitch and was laying upside down... with wheels spinning and sparks flying. A couple of truckers stopped to help us. One of them was using a lot of proganity until he saw the sighn that had been on the tailgate of our trailor. When the trailor had separated from our hitch and flipped it smashed the top of the trailor to pieces. Inside of the trailor had been our suitcases, tent and two 50 gallon drums of gasoline. That is why the trucker was cussing. That is he did until he saw the sign we had had on the tailgate. It said "Honk! If you Love Jesus." The other trucker just said "Wow!". They helped Dad and my brothers to put the trailor to rights, including the two 50 gallon drums of gasoline.

I think my story tops the all.........Think "Jesus take the wheel"........I am one of a set of triplets with two older brothers.  Our road trips growing up were usually trips to Maine and to Spring lake. When we were little about three years old my mom took us to Spring lake parked her station wagon on a steep hill, got out of the car leaving the three of us alone in the vechicle with the engine still running, my brother John got into the drivers seat shifted it into gear or released the emergency brake, now think " JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL"...Picture this....The car rolled backwards down the hill, swerved around a big oak tree at the bottom of the hill and went back up the hill with my mother trying to get back into the car to stop it. My mother nearly broke her leg and nearly had a heart attack.  

Hi Kelli and Scott. I have gone on a couple trips. I don't remember this one. But, I have gone to Arizona on a plane before when I was a baby. The second one was to Branson, MO! With my 2 brothers. I ended up having to get a cast in Springfield-because I was playing and ended falling over-well earlier that morning I was messing around. Then my whole family one was when I went to Pittsburg. Talk about 6 people in a small car. But the good news is I got a bigger car now! Anyway,  it really wasn't that bad. Okay but we ended traveling in another while we were staying Pittsburg. We went to Lamar, MO! I remember the huge, mouth-watering rolls they had at the Blue Top. My it was yummy. Then finding out a church was going to be where my dad's grand-parents use to live. Was really exciting. I had a fun time. I haven't been on a road trip since. But that was a month ago. I am done with road trips-I am just kidding.

Got another one for you.  Do you know what an American Rambler is?  Think Toyota Corolla, but a tad smaller.  Think Two adults and six kids.  Think Road trip to Big Bend and back.  Think Big fat Thunderstorm on the way home.  The windshield wipers did not work.  We were under a cloud that let down big hailstones.  Mom said, honey move the car up the road a bit.  Dad does.  No more hailstones, just a gully washer of rain.  Fianlly came to an overpass and parked under it until the storm passed.  The Marfa and Alpine area had up to that time been in a drought.  That storm broke the drought.  That was 1968 or 1969.

My father was in the Army.  We were living in South Carolina when he received orders to move to Kansas.  My family once again packed all of our belongings to move half way across the country.   The moving van left our house and shortly after we packed my Dad's conversion van with our suitcases and our THREE CATS!!  Trying to make the trip as stress free for the cats, we allowed them out of the carrying cages.  They could roam the vehicle, sit in our laps, and sleep where they wanted.

Baby Cat our beautiful white persian kitty (who happens to be deaf) decided he wanted to sleep on the dashboard.  This didn't seem to be a problem.  He slept there for nearly an hour.  The drive was going great, until all of the sudden Baby Cat decided he wad done napping and stood straight up.  My poor dad was yelling and trying to get him to move (now remember he is deaf).    We quickly grabbed the kitty and everything was fine.  

We laugh and laugh about it now.  That's been over ten years and Baby Cat is still with us.  When we moved to our next destination, we did not allow him to sleep on the dash!!

My father was in the Navy so roadtrips happened every 3-6 months for us...and they were usually cross-country.  On top of that, my grandparents would wait until we got moved, then they'd come and get me and take me back to Michigan (I was the first grandchild, not in school...etc)...so I was ALWAYS on the road.  During one trip, we stopped for breakfast at a restaurant.  I ordered my normal "road-trip" meal: a hamburger and fries.  My grandparents were BEGGING me to get some oatmeal.  I sat in the booth with my cowgirl fringed top and skirt, boots, hair braided, hat slid behind my head, with my arms firmly crossed and my nose in the air saying "no way".  The owner of the restaurant stopped by the table and said "young lady, being the fine cowgirl that you are, if you'd eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, I'll invite you and your family out to my ranch and you can see my horses."  I imagine you KNOW what I ate for breakfast, and I ate it so fast that I was begging the family to finish theirs sooner.  Next thing you know, we were in the restaurant owner's (very fine) barn. They brought me the most beautiful horse and I got put on top of that horse!  I also got to pet every horse in the barn!  It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life!  If the man that made this experience possible for me nearly 50 years ago is still alive I hope that he knows what a wonderful gift he gave me...P.S. I still don't like oatmeal (but I eat it occassionaly in memory of that day) and I have a horse farm of my own now.