Getting The Most Out Of Family Travel

Today is the day I'm sharing my number one travel tidbit, are you ready? Do you have your pen and paper out to jot down notes {wink}? It's profound y'all, I'm just telling you, profound.  

Drum roll please..... take the  s-l-o-w  route. Yes, that's it. Profound right? Seriously, it is the best travel advice anyone could ever give you and I'm going to tell you why. 

Life is full, like jam-packed, and when you and your husband can finally get some time off work or sync your schedules so that you can take a family trip, time is of the essence and we all just want to get there, you know, arrive at the destination, lickety split, time's a wasting. Am I right? No honey, dead wrong.

{you don't see this on the highway friends}

Now, I only just figured this out after  we bought the camper, so don't go thinking that I'm all wise or anything. I read and researched for our camper so much and I joined so many forums and read so many blogs devoted to all things camping, that I learned a few things, invaluable life lessons.

Those interstates out there were built for speed, to get us where we need to go in a hurry. Interstates are not your friend. They are not your family's friend. They are monotonous and dull and they put kids and grown-ups to sleep, or even worse, into a zombie-like trance. 

{Matthew stays interested the whole journey}

Life is an adventure and a huge part of that is learning to value the journey. The time spent getting  from point A to point B. 

The first time we took our camper out on an adventure, it suddenly became crystal clear what I'd been reading from other camper owners. Towing causes you to s-l-o-w down. You can take this in one of two ways. You can become irritated at this pokey pace, or you can embrace this gift and learn how to find beauty in the slow. 

Now, before our adventure, I check routes to our destination on Mapquest because that usually gives me several choices, I pick the back-roads, and this usually barely changes our arrival time. But what happens inside our car while we're winding through the byways at a slower pace, is where it's all worth the extra moments it's going to take to arrive.

There are no zombies in our car. Our children are learning to travel with their cameras ready because they see so many moments that they'd like to capture. We stop lots and take photos and oooooh and ahhhhhh over pretties. Do we arrive at our destination in record time, nope, but we arrive filled with the gifts of a slow and winding journey tucked deep inside our hearts.

There's my wisdom for the day, take the slow route, take the scenic byways and marvel at the difference it will make in your adventures. Slow grows families y'all. 

I know, I know, you are so grateful you'd like to hug me. A virtual hug will just have to do. 

{smile}