When I was a kid, we lived in an extremely remote town, literally in the middle of nowhere, Northwestern Ontario.  Road trips went on for days, because it was at least a two-day drive to a real destination.  I am the oldest of five children, so there were pretty tight quarters, to boot.

Our family of seven would pack into whatever car we had at the time (and later van), throw on an eight-track tape and away we went.  Soon everyone but me and my dad would be asleep.  Even as a child I couldn’t sleep anywhere but my own bed, and still holds true today.  I remember watching trees flash by my window, and the occasional wild animal.  You would probably think I am BSing if I told you I have seen dozens of bears, moose and wolves in their natural habitat.  That’s what happens when you live in the bush.

I loved these road trips, the siblings quietly sleeping, listening to tunes with my dad.  I have learned since then that the movement of the car fulfills the needs that my vestibular system requires, and is completely a sensory issue.  Sorry, a little professional talk there. 

To this day, I still love road trips.  I love the movement of the car, the scenery, and listening to music.  For me, the travelling is as important as the destination.  I have covered a good chunk of North America on road trips and will gladly see and do more with time.

My older child is pretty good on road trips.  She probably doesn’t enjoy them quite as much as me, but she is pretty content to sit through the travelling to get to the destinations.  My younger child is a completely different story.  This child hates being in the vehicle.  As a baby, she would scream from the time we put her in the car seat until about twenty minutes after we took her out.  Not much has changed in six years.

For Christmas, Santa brought her a portable DVD player, so we could make the five hour flight to Florida.  On previous road trips, I have had to pack an assortment of snacks, drinks, toys, reading materials and colouring books.  I even have the GPS out, mapping bathroom breaks every so often, in order to keep the tantrums at bay.  This child has a difficult time with the hour drive to her grandmother’s place.

Our vacation starts next week, and we are planning a couple of road trips.  One won’t be bad, it’s only a couple of hours each way, but our little jaunt to Minneapolis might be a bit of a challenge.  I’d better start packing now!  I need to make sure the DVD player is charged and ready to go, the movies are in the travelling case, the low fat snacks are bought, the books and colouring materials are good to go, the GPS is programmed…

And then when vacation is over, I need a break.