Family Road Trip: Now and Then
Family road trips have changed since the 80’s…
Now…
Each kid gets their own captains chair with a seat belt.
Then…
Kids crammed in the tiny backseat (not wearing seat belts) kicking and screaming that so-in-so is over the line, while the youngest kid is sprawled on the floor over the transmission hump.
Now…
TVs, Xboxes and iPads
Then…
Mad Libs, license plate game, Coleco Hand held Football Game
Now…
Fast food, mega gas stations, outlet malls
Then…
Cooler with sandwiches and Shasta soda, rest stops, historic markers
Now…
85 mph in a 75, huge windmill farms, XM radio
Then…
59.5 mph in a 55, oil pumper fields, mixed tapes
Now…
Multiple, competing GPSs
Then…
Big-ass State Farm Road Atlas
Now…
Cell phones
Then…
CB radio (my dad’s handle was ‘Straight Arrow’ and my mom’s was ‘Quiver’… ewwww!)
Now…
Texting, Facebook, Tweets, blogging
Then…
Talking, blank stares, dead air
Now…
Arguments, disagreements, great memories
Then…
Arguments, disagreements, great memories
Some things never change.
How DID our parents do it?! Ahhh, CB radios… I see where you inherited your creativity for words! haha!
How did they? I used to love the CB…”breaker 1 9.”
Then: Leave in the evening, drive all night so kids slept while Mom and Dad took 2 hour turns at driving/sleeping. Twenty-four hours later, drive up to a homemade meal on G’ma and G’pas farm.
Now: We wait for our kids and grandkids drive 10 hours to arrive for a homemade meal upon arrival!
We love Granny D’s homemade meals!
My grandfather built a platform out of wood in the back of the van. He put a mattress on it so suitcases could go under and cousins/siblings could go on top. We had a huge bag of books and the anticipation of the next KOA camp. It was the BEST!!
Love it! I remember riding backwards in our station wagon in the very back seat. The extra seat actually faced backwards. I miss KOA camps…well, sort of :).