We are hitting the road in a week! We have the opportunity to head back to Missouri and see some family and friends, and we’re pretty excited about it.

According to Google Maps, we have about a sixteen hour trip ahead of us. That’s a lot of time in a vehicle together! Fortunately, we are renting a 15 passenger van for this trip, giving us a lot of room to spread out. This is a trial run in that regard. We will soon be looking for a new vehicle that will fit our whole family. We’ll see if this is the kind of vehicle we want.

But, believe it or not, I’m pretty excited about the trip part of the trip. Before you start thinking I’m crazy, let me share with you a few of my reasons.

Fun And Games

My kids and I will have the opportunity to play some road games we normally don’t get to play. Games like the alphabet game, which helps my younger kids learn their letters better.

School Work

With that much time on the road, my wife plans to bring along some of the kids schoolwork. She will be able to head to the back and help each of our kids individually with their work while the younger ones eat, sleep or look at books. Fortunately, motion sickness isn’t much of a problem for any of them. I would be sick the moment I opened a book.

Extended Talks

While my wife is in the back of the van helping one of the kids, I’ll be able to have another sitting next to me, or right behind me. The conversations we’ll have will be great. I’m really excited about that.

Hotel Stays

Since this is a sixteen hour trip, a night in a hotel is a must. There’s no way we can drive straight through. So we’ll stop, get a room, play in the pool, watch some TV, and all sleep in the same room. My kids consider it an adventure. I consider it an opportunity to practice holding my bladder with all of us in the same room and only one bathroom.

Sightseeing

This time around, we will take a different route from Florida to Missouri, giving us the opportunity to see different areas of the country. I’ve discovered Roadside America, which is a site full of crazy, fun and odd places to visit across the country, such as the Big Peach Statue in Clanton, AL, which is just off of the highway we’ll be driving. We’ll be right there, so we might as well… Right?

That much time in a cramped vehicle will surely result in some flared tempers and increased tension. That will be true of the kids as well as for my wife and me. But the benefits of spending that time together will be incredible. I know we’ll have some great memories from our time together, as well as some great photos. I’m sure a shot in front of the giant peach will be something we hold onto for years to come.

It’s going to be a great trip, if for no other reason than just the trip itself. Not to mention the fact that we will visit friends and family that we’ve missed seeing for a while. Maybe we should do this kind of stuff more often…

Be deliberate, Dad!

What do you do to make a long trip more enjoyable for yourself and for your family? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.