Picture this – you decide it’s time to take a family trip, you want to visit a few places, not just one, so you decide to drive. You spend weeks getting ready, making packing lists, getting car snacks, buying new DVDs so your kids have something NEW to watch and your not listening to “Let it go” for the umpteenth time (is that just me?)… ANYWAY your finally ready to go. The car is PACKED FULL of luggage, food and kids and you pull out of the driveway on your way to a FUN “vacation” and it begins….
“MOOOOOOOMMMMM… so-and-so spit in my hair”, “Wellllllll YOU put your head in my spit” Followed closely by someone else saying “I have to pee”… AT this point your husband turns to you and says “why are we doing this” and you, gripping the steering wheel, clenching your teeth and thinking about the WEEKS that you just spent planning the perfect vacation, yell at everyone “ARE WE HAVING FUN YET”
Day 1 – everyone is happy and excited, normal for an adventure the first day
YUP family time is supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to bring you closer together as a family and create amazing recipes. Personally I have great memories of road trips with my family, reading books together, constant bathroom breaks (my mom drinks a LOT of water), watching movies and even getting thrown up on by my sister (more than once). And while those aren’t all GREAT memories they are all wonderful memories, ones I’d like to give my own kids (maybe not the throw up).
Day 2 – so far so good! NO FIGHTING, that’s huge, everyone was pleasant to me and each other
Maybe it’s because I have 5 kids? or maybe because I didn’t see the work that went into it for my own parents, but planning a vacation for my own family seems to be equal parts pain and suffering and joy and happiness. IF we make it to our destination without killing each other (literally, we tried to put so may miles in one year my husband fell asleep at the wheel and almost flipped the van) it takes at LEAST a day to get over any hurt feelings that we accrue along the drive, or the 16 hours straight screen time (to keep them from fighting). Not to mention stretching our legs and getting over “sitting to long in a car” cramps. Not to mention (but I will) if it’s a few days away you have to get a cramped hotel room, unpack and repack your van, end up leaving something precious behind, like a blanket, that you child CAN’T SLEEP WITHOUT, etc… GAH I think the good outweighs the bad, so we keep going on vacation, but there HAS to be a better way…
Day 3 – Sunday, we relaxed, went to church, enjoyed walking around Temple grounds… AND EVERYONE WAS REVERENT, WHAT?
THERE IS – a solution to all of it…. an RV.
Day 4 – by now we’ve been gone from home for 6 days, in the RV for 4, and not only is everyone still happy, I’m able to have some meaningful conversations as we visit some pretty sacred places
Seriously it’s that easy. It solved EVERY ONE of our family issues (well ROAD TRIP issues). No more bathroom breaks, no more being squeezed too tight, no more being stuck next to someone who spit on you (yes that really happened). No more being stuck eating CRAPPY snacks. No more losing things to hotel rooms. All of it.
Day 5 – we spent the day at the zoo, all day.. that in and of itself usually leads to some break downs (over excited, over walked, etc…) let alone after 1,100 miles
Room to spread out, a fridge/kitchen for storing and making wonderful meals, AND from day one your unpacked and settled, no unpacking, packing, unloading, loading multiple times. It was like MAGIC. We had the most AMAZING 10 days of vacation, not 2 days of pain and suffering, 1 day of recovery, 4 days of fun, 1 day of packing and 2 final days of hellish driving (all the roughness of the trip out, but without the reward of a vacation afterwards).
Day 6 – The TODDLER and Dad joins us… good time for a melt down (having the baby in everything we’ve balanced so well for days) but it goes great! adding two more people to the RV is not an issue!
With an RV it’s not just the destination that’s fun, it’s the entire vacation! In stead of stopping for a bathroom break and then bribing, begging, pushing your kids back into their seats they are HAPPY to get back on the road! Finally my kids enjoyed every aspect of the trip, the travel and destinations alike. AND we never were pushing to drive to much in one day! We didn’t have to drive until we were shot trying to get the driving out of the way. In fact we barely drove during the night at all! And if we DID get tired we could always just pull into a walmart and sleep! No calling ahead trying to find a hotel at the next town with an opening. Seriously best road trip ever, and it wasn’t the destinations, it was the traveling that made it so wonderful!
Day 7 – Everyone is still being kind and helpful? I’m blown away
I know people say that RV’s are too pricey, and your right, it is an expensive trip. BUT IT’S SO WORTH IT! we were able to spend the same amount on food, cause I cooked every meal (no fast food, or tons of crappy expensive snacks), no hotel rooms, no replacing whatever you LOST in the hotel room, My husband didn’t fell like he wasted 4 days (out of the 10 he gets a year) fighting with everyone, it was worth every day away, and when we came back he was actually relaxed and ready to go back to work, not more worn out that when we left.
Day 8 – We had pretty short drives before this, doing half the trip in 7 days, now we have 3 days to cover 1,100 miles with few trips, I’m concerned not the fighting is going to begin, but look!!! BORING MONUMENTS AND STILL SMILING!
Seriously, if your thinking about taking a road trip vacation, with multiple stops and destinations It’s seriously the only way to go! In 10 days we hit 9 destination spots, traveled 2200 miles and never felt rushed. We enjoyed every moment, even when we were driving we were doing crafts, playing card games, talking about what we had seen. And almost ZERO fighting, seriously, I would not have thought that was even possible. People took NAPS for crying outloud! We were well rested, well fed and I can’t imagine a better vacation is even POSSIBLE for us. I’m a convert and I hope we can make an RV a part of our family travels at least every other year!
Day 9 – our last stop, tomorrow we’ll drive the rest of the way home. Not only is everyone still happy, no one is ready to go home! Princess is usually the problem instigator and look! her sibling are not only not angry with her, they are PULLING HER IN A HANDCART, without being asked!
Thank you Access RV Rentals for helping us achieve such an amazing family vacation!
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Karen Augustsson
June 11, 2015 at 12:38 pmREALLY?!? My husband (born & raised in Sweden) have been married for almost 13 years without the pleasure or funds for a honeymoon. This would be a great way to show my “soul mate” some of the country he now calls home. We are nearing retirement age & are considering RVing when we DO retire. This would be an excellent chance to experience much for this oldish couple. I’ve not been able to work for 7 yrs. due to health issues.
Karen Augustsson
June 11, 2015 at 12:39 pmBesides, my birthday falls in June & this would be one awesome birthday present!!
Carol D
June 14, 2015 at 8:57 amCurious if this is transferable…if I were to win, could I give this to my son and his young family? I think it’s an awesome way for young families to travel.
I’d LOVE to do this. But hubby would not even consider it…
I’ve driven cross country and wished I had something like this – no hunting for CLEAN hotels/motels every night. Have food that I know I like without paying exorbitant restaurant prices! would LOVE it!
MICHAEL R GREEN
November 21, 2015 at 4:09 pmDISABLED VET US ARMY I THINK IT,S AN AWESOME WAY FOR OLD FAMILIES TO TRAVEL.
Ashlee
November 22, 2015 at 4:55 pmI agree, it’s great for travel at any age!