Childhood Road Trips – Now and Then

Hi friends! 🙂

It’s the Friday of the March break, only our March break has been moved to April this year.  Regardless, the kid and the teacher in me will always have a few special memories of this traditional kick off to rest, travel and springtime.

I’m reminded of where I would have been on this day 35 years ago… with my family of seven, piled into our full-sized GMC passenger van, for a non-stop, 25 hour drive to Florida.  Believe it or not, they were the best road trips.

How times have changed!  I’m not sure my kids could have survived the road trips of my youth.

This post is a special tribute to my family, and to all of the Gen X and Gen Y moms out there who survived road trips as children in the 70’s and 80’s, but whose own kids can’t survive a road trip without an insulated thermos of ice water (still, not sparkling), a room service style menu, and the latest movies and music at their fingertips.

The Difference Between Road Trips, Now and Then

#1 – No Air Conditioning

Hot?  Having a hard time breathing in the back seat?  Roll down your window.  Or in our case, push out the window for the 3 inches of space at the bottom that allowed the tiniest bit of fresh air to flow through the big van.  We fought over who could have the spot near the window so we could press our face to it for easier access to colder oxygen.

Today, kids argue over the temperature at which to set their individual temperature settings for the back seats.  Rear vents were definitely not a thing in our day.

Alternatively, feeling cold?  The sole heating vent way up at the front was OK for the front seat passengers, but if you found yourself sitting on the back bench of the van, you pulled out your winter coat and did your best to snuggle up underneath while the annoying zipper scratched your face and your coat slid off the seat.  Today, kids turn on their rear, heated seats.  Wimps.

#2 – No Tinted Windows

For those of us who went on road trips as kids in the 70’s and 80’s, you may remember how you almost made friends with the kids in the other cars as you travelled down the highway together.  After all, there were no tinted windows so you could see right into their car and they could see directly into yours.

In fact, they may have even been playing the same “spot the license plate” game that you were playing since both of your families had stopped at the last service station and picked it up in the gas bar.  This is likely because no one was concerned about whether you had packed a bag full of activities to keep yourself entertained and content throughout the drive.  

With vehicles an open book, you could see what comic books they were reading, they could see when you were fighting with your siblings, and it’s like you got to know one another as you travelled side by side down the road.  

When the time came for your family to merge off the highway, you gave a little wave and fist pump in your mind, mentally saying goodbye from your hot back seat as you continued on your family vacations.  

P.S. I was always a little jealous of the kids riding down the road in the backs of station wagons.  It looked so spacious and they looked so free.

#3 – Drinks & Snacks

Just kidding! There weren’t any.  Next topic.

#4 – AM Radio

Ahhhh, the crackling sound of an AM radio station barely audible in the back seats because there was only a single speaker located in the front of the van.  For any of us to hear the radio, it had to be set at a volume that damaged the hearing of our parents.  

Today, we can adjust the radio to the rear speakers to save ourselves from our kids’ music and their preferred volume.  Or, they just have headphones in while they play their favourite music from a playlist.  They didn’t even have to sit beside the radio for an afternoon hoping to press record at just the right time to create the perfect mixed tape.

As a parent myself now, I find myself constantly turning down the music so “I can think.”  I feel I owe a formal apology to my mom and dad for ever asking them to turn up the radio.  Mom and dad, I’m sorry.

#5 – No Technology

Our kids today have access to endless games, music, tv shows, movies, connections to friends, etc. just by jumping into a car with an iPhone and some headphones. 

In our day, we packed a few books, a game or two, and a walkman with our best mixed tapes.  If we had a favourite show coming on, we just hoped our dad drove fast enough so that we could get home in time to watch it.  If we were bored, we’d fight with our siblings.  Pretty simple really.

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So which is better – the road trips of our childhood or the road trips we take today as moms?  I think our immediate reaction is to assume the “old” way was better because it was simpler in many ways.  But maybe the real measure is just whether family road trips still make fun and forever memories?  I think they still do.  So, I don’t think our generation can claim better.  I do think we can definitely lay claim to #Less5Star though.

Author’s Note: 
Regarding point #3 – To be fair, sometimes we did have snacks and drinks, and sometimes my mom even managed to pack an entire meal for seven in the little cooler that sat beside her seat in our infamous burgundy and silver van.  She’d pass back sandwiches and I’d just pray I didn’t get the one with mayonnaise.  Funny the things you remember.  Thanks mom! 🙂