THIRTEEN SUMMER CAR TRIP SHENANIGANS
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Oh, yes... school's out for summer starting today! It's time for fun, sun and... road trips! That all-American institution designed to kill kids from boredom and parents from insanity with the same four words: Are We There Yet?? Below is my list of remembered Car Trippiness:
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1. The Station Wagon. We had one of those giant, wood-paneled Country Squires with the big bench seats up front and two little rumble seats in the far back. That baby could haul 7 people, enough luggage for a trip to the moon, a gigantic cooler AND my Barbie collection with room to spare!

2. Personal space. My sibs and I absolutely COULD NOT be touching one another.

3. Games. The license plate game was tops, followed by I Saw It First--road signs, mileage posts, whatever... the whole purpose was to see it before anyone else did. And, when all else failed, we'd spot roadkill and do impressions. (yes, we were little ghouls)

4. Reading. My brother was the only one who could do this, for hours on end, while we were driving. The rest of us didn't dare because of #5:

5. Getting car sick. My tummy was pretty solid unless I started staring down at the road lines or something. My middle sister was Carsick Queen and I never wanted to sit next to her.

6. Sleeping. One trip I figured out I could make a sort of head sling out of the shoulder strap and I was in nap heaven. Unfortunately, I could never make it work again after that.

7. "She's looking at me!" After about three hours in the car. Too much of this signalled time to stop for a break.

8. Getting lost. This didn't happen often because Dad had Rand McNally imprinted on his brain. However, there were some memorable occasions, accompanied by a cuss or two and a "Well, how the hell should I know where we are?" from the front seat.

9. Roadside lunches. I believe my family holds the dubious honor of having picnicked in nearly every rest area in New York State.

10. Shortcuts. Dad loved his shortcuts. Of course, they usually turned into...

11. The Scenic Route. You want a 30 minute drive to turn into a 4 hour excursion? Just leave it to dad!

12. Traffic Jams. Granted, we were usually on the Scenic Route so we missed most of this, but any kind of jam would immediately spawn sweating, squabbling and smacking in the back seat because we had...

13. No Air Conditioning. In the middle of July, rolling down the windows only lets more heat in!

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What's your favorite memory of car trips? Share!

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