Road trips, oh how they have changed.

When I was a kid my dad always took off two weeks in the summer. We would take these two weeks and head out on some kind of road trip . Most of the time it would be to Brownsville, Tx where I was born and grew up. We would pack up and head out the four of us. I think we would pack a cooler with food and snacks. My Dad was not a fan of making stops. He wanted to make "good" time. This meant that we had to hold our bladders a lot longer than we would like to. This might be the reason I can hold it so long now. Thanks, Dad. Anyway. We are currently as I type on a family road trip. It got me thinking about my family road trips as a kid compared to road trips now as far as all the " techie" kinds of toys and must haves we take on trips now. Back in the day we took books to read. My Dad picked the radio station. You were forced to listen to what your parents listened to. We had a favorite stuffed animal and maybe some coloring books, too. BUT that is really it. I do think I had a Sony Walkman and Discman at some point but, not much more than that. NOW a days it is really ridiculous the amount of "toys" and "entertainment" that we think we "need" in order to go on a trip. For instance, us. We have a DVD built into our car. All four of us, me, KP, Alex, and Matt have iPods. Both boys have Nintendo DSs. Matt also has a Leap Frog system. We bring books and magazines. I have a Blackberry phone i get emails and internet on. On top of that I have a new toy...an iPad!! It really gets to be overwhelming. And sad, too. Really? Do we need all these things? Why can't we just get in the car and enjoy the scenery and each others company. Talking to each other. Or making up silly car games to play. Instead we have all these distractions and contraptions. Ugh. The simple things. I miss them. It is easier said then done to change the horrible habits that we have become accustomed to. That being said. I think I will try and sign off and talk to Jenny, Maddie, and Ms. P. And I am going to look out the window and enjoy the view. Our first stop is going to be Buc-ees in Madisonville. (: