The Family Road Trip...A Must Try For All!

Every year we embark on a summer road trip with the kids to Vail, Colorado! The drive is a total of 17 hours. We cover 12 hours the first day and then tackle the last 5 hours on day two...piece of cake on day two!

When we first started taking this trip 5 years ago we didn't know what was in store for us. The kids were 9 and 4 1/2 and it was uncharted territory for us.

What was so shocking...and still is, is that both kids still say that this is their favorite trip of every year, and that the DRIVE is a big part of that! Wow! Who knew that could even be possible!

It doesn't hurt that we stay with the cousins when we get there, which always means HUGE fun all the time!! They just love being together.

We raft, we hike, ride bikes, rock climb...you name it and the kids are up for it. They don't really seem to care what we end up doing, just that we all do it together. Priceless memories.

And for the driving part of the adventure, we have established little traditions along the way. Traditions that though they are small, we can never deviate from now...they are in stone!

For example, on day one we make camp in Trinidad, CO, and have dinner at an Italian Restaurant that not only has fabulous food, but the entire staff sings....even the buss boys! It's awesome! On the way back home we always stop at the Big Texan in Amarillo for dinner, completely different atmosphere but another warm fuzzy because of the familiarity....another must each year.

I guess what it all comes down to is the slower pace, the long stretch of time together without interruption, and more family to greet us once we arrive.

For us, it's a little slice of heaven in a sometimes chaotic world.

And I think all of us could probably use a dose of "simpler times," a slower pace, and more importantly the opportunity to create priceless time together.

Road trips a family must. Or at least, a must try!