We will soon be embarking on a road trip to Branson. Google maps tells us it will take 7 hours and 51 minutes. We will have a few stops with the kiddos, so we are estimating 10 hours.
Ten hours in the car with a 7 and 5 year old, plus 9 month old twins. Sounds like we’re nuts. And, as nuts as it is, I’m actually really excited about it.
As a child I remember many road trips with the whole family all loaded up in the family truckster (ours was a red suburban). One of the things I remember loving was looking at the road map and calculating how far we had come, how far it was to our next Dairy Queen, or how far it was to our final destination. As I thought about this, I realized that my kids probably haven’t even seen a real road map before. By real, I mean paper. Heck, I honestly can’t remember the last time I looked at a paper map. It has to have been during college, in the age of Google maps that you could print out (I realize you still can but I don’t).
Amazing. I think using my iPhone’s navigation is wonderful. How great is it to know what traffic is going to be like and your ETA adjust accordingly?!? And no need for paper!
But…I also think there is some benefit to the kids learning to use a real map. Soooo, I’ll be getting a real paper roadmap for them to use on the trip for a fun learning opportunity. Maybe we will make a game out if it somehow…
Family road trip ideas welcome!
Chicken Minus Head 