Sunday, April 12, 2009

Question Of The Week


Blake and I are planning to take the kids cross country this summer. And, in our pursuit of all things Grizwold-ish, we've started referring to our journey as "Walley World". Kansas City to Dallas to San Diego to the Grand Canyon, Dodge City and more.

Why? Because flying is just too easy, people. And, memories of travel during my childhood include only a flash of an airplane ride. Instead, I recall games with my siblings, stops along the highway and of course, my father threatening to pull the car over should one more child (of 6, mind you) act out.

So, I'm gathering ideas and we're looking at maps and should all of this come together, we have quite a journey ahead.

***What road trip from childhood and beyond is your favorite?

21 comments:

Malinda said...

My parents never drove us any further than San Antonio. I do remember my brother hitting himself and then telling my parents that I did it. We also had a line on the seat that neither of us were allowed to cross. He would drive me insane by putting his finger right next to the line and say "I'm not crossing it, I'm not crossing it".

merrilee said...

We drove from Texas to Canada--Glacier Mountain National Park. . . .absolutely spectacular! When I was pregnant with Ellery, Darin and I drove back there from Seattle. A gorgeous place to visit. I agree with the road trips. . . .it is a must for family bonding!

Anonymous said...

oh, one of my favorites. anything griswold. :o) hi, my name is amber.

Coco said...

Oh how fun! We drove to Colorado every single summer and of course the Texas coast multiple times a summer.

I remember waking up and being almost there and getting to eat fast food and Doritos like it was going out of style.

Once my brother tooted in the car and it was so bad that I puked my guts up. It was the end of our trip and my dad had had enough. We pulled over and my brother got spanked for farting (and my dad NEVER spanked)!! We probably looked like white trash, car filled to the brim, kid barfing in a McDonalds bag, and dad spanking another. Good times..

Moni said...

Oh my gosh...that is one of my favorite movies..."You think you hate it now, wait 'til you drive it." We weren't much of a road trip family, thank goodness, most of our vacations were by plane. One time, though, we were driving home from a family reunion in Kentucky one summer, and I got food poisoning in Memphis. I remember laying in the back of the Suburban throwing up into a garbage bag while my sister sat in front of me and refused to stop eating Sour Cream and Onion chips...ALL THE WAY BACK TO DALLAS. I still can't stomach the smell of those things!

If the shoe FITZ said...

We drove from San Antonio to Wichita Falls often. About a 6 hour trip. I remember having all the travel games like Connect Four. My sister and I def. had our own sides of the car and if anything crossed the line screaming began!

FROGGITY! said...

ah, the wagon queen family truckster... you think you hate it now - just wait until you drive it!! lol one of our VERY favorite movies. hubby can quote the WHOLE THING.

miami and the keys is our favorite road trip! we prefer driving... so fun!!!

from my childhood: williamsburg and washington d.c. LOVED that road trip. my g-parents went along and we did an american girl's tea party (it was the launch of the doll felicity).

also we moved to new mexico when i was 4 for a brief period and i still remember the deserts and the mountains and the texan oil pumps! :) some of my first memories!!
(sorry, i wrote a REALLY long response!!)

Tammy said...

Love this question. My husband are big believers in road trips. Luckily for me, he normally does all the driving. I love looking out and checking out the scenery. As a kid we drove from Texas to Michigan many more times than we flew it, and I have lots of memories. One of them is how my brother and I would wish for a tv in the car and we would talk about how that would make the trip go by sooo much faster. Well, I got my wish, but not for myself, but for my kiddos, which I guess is kinda for me too;). My husband and I have trekked from Texas to New York, to Michigan, which incidentally takes you through Niagra Falls, Canada. It is exhausting and at times, our less than best comes out, but in the end, it is all about making memories!!! For our next big drive, I'd like to go west! Ahhh... the Griswolds!!! What could be better?

Anonymous said...

The grand canyon, old faithful, and then these slide things that you sit on a skateboard type thingie with handles and you go down a hill that has a cement track...like a slide type thing.

It was a 3 weeks road trip! We had no idea it was that long when we were little. We would just drive to whereever, check it out for the day and then find a place to sleep...no schedule!!

The Soladay Family said...

I remember the summer my parents decided to take us to Europe for 2 weeks, and then all that hijacking started going on...mid 80's...so they decided a road trip from here to Cali was a better idea. My mom spent weeks before hand taping Brady Bunch episodes for us to watch in the big conversion van, and made us each a book with a detailed road map of our journey, a journal to write about the trip, and puzzles related to our stops. I remember folding down the back "couch" in the van and sleeping on it during the drive...my have times changed! Aww...good times...

Carrie said...

Alpine slides! That is it! Man, it was killing me to not remember the name of those damn slides...

Shannie said...

OMG, I love Clarke... That's too funny. We had a Griswoldmobile, with the wood paneling, when I was little and would drive all over the place. Fun times. I definitely want to travel with our kids.

Blake said...

Too many road trips over the years. I choose to provide some of my favorite quotes from the all time greatest movie, "Vacation"

"Ain't never seen anyone so shit-all stupid as you driving off that road. You musta got manure for your brains." "Yeah, well, we're from out of town. How much do I owe you?"

"Why aren't we flying? Because getting there is half the fun. You know that."

"Hey, hey, easy kids. Everybody in the car. Boat leaves in two minutes... or perhaps you don't want to see the second largest ball of twine on the face of the earth, which is only four short hours away?"

"I'm just trying to treat my family to a little fun." "Oh spare me, Clark, I know your brand of family fun. Tomorrow you'll probably kill the desk clerk, hold up a McDonalds, and drive us 1000 miles out of the way to see the world's largest pile of mud!"

And my all time favorite...

"Roll 'em up!"

Carrie said...

"this tent stinks Clark"
"Edna, this is your tent!"

"Why don't you just ask him for the money Eddie?"

Why hasn't Christie Brikley aged since then? What is her secret?

Amanda said...

OK, LOVE the Griswold reference. Not to mention Dodge City was where Rusty lost his hearing in the saloon. Ha! My Dad was not into road trips. I don't think he could take the family for anymore than an hour at a time. We flew most everywhere, but when we lived in Tuscon, we did drive back to Dallas from time to time and all I remember was peeing on the side of the road and sleeping on the fold down bed in the back of the Mo-Lester van my mom owned (after closing the mini-blinds of course).

Sharla said...

We always drove everyone on vacation too, but we took 2 weeks then and we just don't have (or make I guess) that much time now. I remember driving my older brother (by 8 years) crazy when we drove to NY and played "War" (card game) ALL THE WAY THERE. Have a great trip!

Kelly Beatty said...

Oh Lord. So, every summer we would drive from Jax, FL to Butler, GA to visit my "Mimmy." I would pack all Barbies, accessories and a Barbie carrying case. Then, I never played with any of them once we got there. But, that trip seemed to go on forever. I think it was a 4 hour drive.

elizabeth said...

we just got back from an Ohio to florida trip. It is different than when I was a kid. My two sons spent a lot of time with their IPODS in theur ears. We dont have a DVD player and I dont want one., We played Highway bingo (got the cards at AAA) and card games on a pillow between us. It was great.
I remember when I was a kid we spent a lot of time laying in the back window of the oldsmobile or on the backseat floor. (it was the 70's) Get lots of Books on CDs. Have picnics at rest areas. Thats what they remember -not mcdonalds drive throughs

The Lenzers said...

I don't recall to many detailed memories of long road trips, but I know my dad would drive us just across a stateline so we could say we had been there too. We always played the license plate game, seeing how many states you saw. The alpahbet game, you had to find letters in the street signs. and my dad always did "the horse eats corn" just to keep us on track- he would reach back and squeeze above your knee, tickled like crazy-or could hurt if you were being bad. and i must say yall are BRAVE!!! I don't know if I am ready for driving. We are in Memphis right now and Mark drove here w/ the dogs and I flew with the boys so that he didn't have to put up with us for the 7-8 hour drive!!!

Jeannette Pucella said...

My parents went through two Windstar van driving 3 children between the ages of 3 and 11 on a series of cross country roadtrips in the 80's. We went from Louisiana to Southern California. On the way, we saw Carlsbad Caverns, the Petrified Forest, Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings, lots of desert, the Grand Canyon, and finally in California... the Pacific Ocean, Disneyworld (land-whatever) and Universal Studios. It was all very Grizwaldish. Another memorable one was Louisiana to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. The highlights of that trip were a tour of Washington DC's monuments, museums, and of course the White House (Reagan was in), and we ate blue crabs and watched the wild ponies swim in Chincoteague, Virginia. Oh, that trip also included the Baltimore aquarium and the Annapolis Naval Academy. And then there was the time we went to the Great Lake States and Canada. And the Smokey Mountain trip where we saw black bears from our cars and even visited Dollywood, yes... as in Dolly Parton! All good memories, my Dad loved playing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" the whole way there!

Fantastic Forrest said...

Good for you and Blake! Enjoy every moment.

My folks decided to fulfill Dad's dream of checking out Jack London's stomping ground. We drove from Chicago through the northern US into British Columbia and up to the Yukon Territory, then came back via southern Canada. Amazing, beautiful country.

Our road trips as a family have surpassed my childhood experience. We've done Portland, OR to Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC down to the Florida Keys and then home via the southwest, checking out the national parks of Arizona and Utah.

Yes, I am married to a teacher.

If you're doing the Grand Canyon, get the annual pass for the National Parks if you don't already have one. Then stop at as many as you can.