Road Trip Lessons

I took a ten day road trip with my family from Texas to California and we all made it back in one piece! More importantly we were all still sane and liked each other! We went to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and San Diego.

It was a really good trip, sometimes exhausting and HOT other times relaxing and indulgent. But most importantly I feel it brought me even closer to my husband and children. I also learned three really important life lessons:

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Hoover Dam

Bellagio Fountains (Las Vegas)

Grand Canyon

Palm Springs

San Diego Zoo (Skyfari)

Carlsbad Beach

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1.  All relationships should be built on trust. I mean the kind of trust that makes you feel like you could put your life in another persons hands and they won't kill you. This epiphany came to me while I gripped the door handle as my husband scaled a narrow highway in our rental van, which wrapped around a mountain with no guard rails. Several times I thought we were going to plummet to our death but turns out my husband cares about me and our kids too much to let that happen. So the next time we had to traverse a mountain I held on and took a deep breath and trusted that my husband would get us safely to the other side. I also prayed and asked God to keep an eye out as well.  Hey, a little prayer never hurt nobody. 

2. Sometimes you have to let go of fear. . .especially if you want to survive or have fun. The San Diego Zoo is like 100 miles wide/long if you walk the entire thing. (I'm sure I'm exaggerating a little.) The best way to get around is to take the zoo bus or the Skyfari Aerial Tram across the zoo to save some walking time. But here's the deal, this open air, swinging car is 170 feet above the ground. I am NOT a fan of trams, ferris wheels or anything that moves slowly and rocks back and forth 170 feet above the ground! But it saves you some serious foot time and the view is pretty amazing. After giving my family strict instructions NOT to rock the car, I stepped in and gave my feet a rest. I even managed to take a picture or two. 

3.  Patience is a virtue. We clocked over 4000 miles round trip and well over 36 hours total time in the van. There was absolutely no use in being in a hurry or being impatient.  I went with the flow and just enjoyed the views and even jumped in the back seat to watch a movie with my kids a couple of times. The thing that helped when I found myself on the verge of losing my sanity is letting one simple thought entire my mind: This could be it.  This could be my last time ever taking a road trip, my last time ever in Arizona or my last time spending this kind of time with my children. So, I soaked in every second and tried to memorize every moment because I know without a doubt some day I will wish for that time again.