August 18th, 2005 at 12:15pm Posted by Bill
We leave Saturday on our big road trip. We’ll be driving about 2100 miles in three days. Beaverton, Oregon to Cabool, Missouri. We’ll be visiting Kathy’s aunt and uncle, and staying with her cousin (their son). Then, another 2100 mile drive back home. It’s gonna be nuts.
I’m actually really looking forward to it. We drive to southern California all the time, generally about once a year. Until recently, all of our immediate family (with the exception of brother Gabe) lived somewhere in the L.A. area. My dad sold his house in Orange County a few years ago (for a very healthy profit) and moved to the Phoenix area. Last summer, we took a long road trip to see his new place there, then continued on to L.A., and finally back home.
Besides that, this is going to be the first long road trip we’ve ever taken, and the first one where we haven’t already seen the same scenery dozens of times before. We’re going to be just like the Griswolds, except I’ll never be nearly as cool as Clark is, and, you know, I’m real. Come to think of it, there are a few other scary parallels there:
- Our minivan is green, like the family truckster (I don’t think the airbags are made from Hefty bags, though).
- I’ve plotted our course on the computer just like Sparky did, except I used Google Earth’s satellite imaging, not some blocky early ’80s Apple II graphics. Plus, Billy didn’t use Pacman to eat the family car.
- We’ll be staying at cheap motels each night, but I swear I won’t be ordering any drinks from the “pool waitress”.
We’ve got the portable DVD player and a bunch of movies, and I’ve got the DC to AC inverter ready to go, so the boys can power their Playstation 2. I never had this kind of entertainment for road trips when I was a kid.
I’m such a geek, I’ve even researched free wi-fi hot spots near each night’s motel, so I can hopefully upload photos and update this site every day.
Entry Filed under: Memories, Family, Fun, Movies, This blog, Cars
5 Comments Add your own
1. scrapping dani | August 18th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
I can not wait to take another family road trip since I can help drive now.
Road trips are fun but like in the movie vacation when they talk about a smell in the back seat. That is true. For some reason the back seat does start to smell.
Our next family road trip will be to Arizona and then on to California but not until next Summer.
We have been on great road trips. Our first big one was when we moved to Illinois. It was Feb. when we moved there so we drove the Southern route to avoid states that snow a lot. We drove through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana.and stoped at our destiation Illinois. Then when we added Kelly to the fam we took a road trip once we got the silver van. We drove through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, W. Viginia, Virginia then to vacation destination North Carolina. Then on the way home we drove through North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana then back home to Illinois. Then when friends of ours moved to Kansas we drove to visit them. We drove through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri then to our destination Kansas. We drove home the same way we got there. Then our next biggest drive was moving from Illinois to Oregon. This time we took the Northern route. We wanted to see Mt Rushmore. We drove through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, then to our destination Oregon. We have been on several little trips to California, Arizona, Washington and Utah. I told Gabe the next time we drive on a long trip we need to pay to have a DVD system installed in the van or just trade in the van for an upgraded one before the trip. This will make the trip easier for Gabe and I. One trip I want to take when the kids are grown so Gabe and I can take our own little vaca will be through the East coast. The movie Vacation is not eggsagerating (Sp?) at all. Well maybe a little. But seriously how they all feel after a days worth of driving is so true. Worn out and then you act a little goofy. I have actually seen Gabe slap himself and asked me to punch him to wake him up. Gabe has also sang REALLY loud in the car to keep himself awake and energized to drive.
OK well I think I just wrote a novel. Anyway….have fun on your trip.
2. scrapping dani | August 18th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Not W. Viginia W. Virginia. I am a doof but it is hard to see what I type on your blog because half of it disappears while I am typing.
3. Bill | August 18th, 2005 at 1:39 pm
Kinda weird. I’ve made it better, but that’s something I still gotta fix.
4. rebecca marie | August 18th, 2005 at 6:04 pm
please tell me that you won’t eat any balogna sandwhiches that have been peed on by dogs….
5. Bill | August 18th, 2005 at 9:05 pm
I promise nothing.
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