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The journey itself was always something I looked forward to: fast food, roadside attractions (life-size statues of the Flintstones!), reading in the car, and best of all, new comic books at every gas station!
(digression: gas stations and convenience stores rarely have comics these days, part of the reason I think their biggest audience has shifted from kids to collectors who frequent specialized comic shops)
The destinations, on the other hand, were as dull and endless as Ulysses. Example: Cowen, West Virginia, population 300, a town (at least in my memory) without stores, restaurants, attractions, or anything that could be of any possible interest to a kid. Add in distant relatives I barely remembered and old friends of my parents, and I could not wait to get back on the road again.
The Wife and I have already vowed we'll make sure Boomer gets to go on cool vacations--Disneyland, Comic-Con, Europe! Though, life being what it is, there's a good chance he'll get his fair share of distant relatives and random family friends as well . . .
2 comments:
See the thing is, my family would travel to visit relatives too - but they always made sure there was stuff for us kids to do. That way, we actually WANTED to be there.
If there wasn't going to be anything for us to do, my parents left us with my grand-parents and went themselves. We can perhaps adopt a similar strategy.
We used to go to Myrtle Beach (usually with my cousins) every other year. We'd drive and it was AWESOME. We'd have a great time when we were there but the road trip was also great. As you say, because you never knew where you were going to stop next.
Our family reunion replaced these kinds of trips. Each year the family would gather over Father's Day weekend camped out at a lake north of here. The kids could play on the playground, play baseball or whatever they wanted, play cards, run around with all the other kids ... or go fishing with the adults if that was their thing.
Occasionally we'd go visit relatives outside of this, but those weren't bad either. I think having the family all join up at one place once a year ... somewhere that kids remain occupied with what is available ... that's the way to go.
Then of course make your own vacations family activities like you suggested. (We had a yearly trip to the Black Hills for many years that I always enjoyed.)
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