5 Roadtrip Phrases I Wish Existed 20 Years Ago

When I was growing up road-trips were very different than they are now.

There were no great places to stop if you had to pee while on the Ohio turnpike (much to my mother's dismay), when going through the mountains in West Virginia you gripped your seat for dear life because the roads were narrow and your dad drove like he was trying out for NASCAR, and roadtrip dining didn't mean trying all the great restaurants along your route. It meant the homemade trail mix and PB & J sandwhiches your mom made before you left home, which had become soggy after a day in the cooler at your feet.

Which is probably why I used my motion sickness as an excuse to drug myself and sleep through those family bonding experiences. 

So when we set out with our little car loaded down onto the open road I found myself slightly jealous of my children. They were having the road-trip that I had only dreamed of as a child; complete with portable DVD player, neck pillows, and an endless supply of things to keep them entertained. 

Children live such hard lives these days.

All of these wonderful things led me to realize I was saying things to my children that would've sounded much like the Hallelujah Chorus when I was 10.

In honor of that, I thought I'd share with you 5 phrases I wish my parents could've said to me when sitting in the car for over 14 hours (and I'll explain why they are so wonderful so you don't roll your eyes at me):

1. Quiet down and watch your movie. I can't tell you how many times as a child I dreamed of having a watch, dvd player, or vehicle that would allow us to watch movies while on long trips (or in ballet class) as opposed to playing a 10,000th round of the alphabet game. If technology were only 20 more years ahead of itself...

2. You're getting hungry? Ok baby, we will find a place. 'Nough said.

3. GPS says we will arrive around 7:00. This for me was a pretty big deal. As a child I always wanted specifics about our trips; where we were going, who'd we be with, when we would get there, what would we be doing, etc. and my parents' answer of "around 6:00 if we don't get lost" never set well with me.

So having this miracle device that not only told us our specific arrival time but also guaranteed that we wouldn't get lost would have probably made most of my car sickness dissipate immediately (maybe).

4. Just put your pillow on and take a nap. We are going to have quiet time. This one shouldn't have been such a joy to me, but I remember those trips growing up where we had so many people in the car that we weren't able to unbuckle and lay down (it was the 90s, car seats weren't such a big deal). That neck pillow made our trip go so smoothly! And anyone who has ever taken a trip knows what I'm talking about.

5. Let me just finish this chapter... As I've said before, I have one of the worst cases of motion sickness that I've ever seen. And no matter where I sit in the car I've never been able to do anything without making myself sick. But since the wonder of technology has finally caught up with my dreams, I'm now able to read on my kindle without making myself ill. I still can't use my phone, or check out any of my apps but who cares when you are able to read to your hearts content.

Obviously, it is technology that has made my adult road trip experience completely different than my childhood one.

I'm not denying that that is one area I allow my family to have free reign on the devices. And the only thing I can ask myself is why it took so long for these wonders to come about? Why are my kids the lucky ones? *Insert my pout face here* Brats.

Have you been on a long trip recently? What did you find was something that made the trip easier (other than drugs, I can't advocate for that)?