16 Things That Made Family Road Trips Unforgettable

Family road trips are a classic American experience. They are sometimes tough and fun at the same time. Before we had smartphones, portable DVD players, and GPS navigation, paper maps and AM radio had to do. We also had to put up with our family’s close space toleration for days at a time. Let’s look back at all the fun memories these trips brought us, how they would probably get you arrested in 2025, and why we still remember them fondly.

1. The Station Wagon Experience

Nothing beat the classic wood paneling station wagon. It was true family vehicle. The back seat was even a turn around view seat, and kids would wave and joke with all the cars behind us. The safety regulations, cooling, and seatbelt rules didn’t apply to them either.

2. Dad’s Refusal to Stop for Directions

Dad would navigate using the gas station maps. Mom would say “let’s just ask” to which Dad would respond “I know exactly where we are going.” Modern day GPS would ruin these little misadventures with technology.

3. The “No Stopping Until Empty” Rule

Dad made the rules. We only stopped the car for gas. If someone needed to go to the bathroom, your answer was “you should have gone before we left”. People started making promises and negotiating to stop the car. Today’s parents would hate this mentality.

4. The Cooler of Soggy Sandwiches

That blue Igloo cooler was filled to the brim with bologna sandwiches, warm Kool-Aid, and slightly bruised fruit, and by hour six of our ten hour road trip, everything had merged into a nasty concoction of food slop and we still ate it, because restaurant stops were for “people made of money.” The sandwiches had that distinct taste of plastic bag.

5. The Great Highway Game Marathon

Hours were spent playing Travel Bingo, the License Plate Game, and counting Volkswagen Beetles. These games would always end with someone arguing about who saw what first, or someone accusing a “cheater” during 20 Questions. People were always amazed at the creativity kids had while stuck in a car with no screens.

6. The AM Radio Roulette

As we drove through new areas, the radio would change and give us the soundtrack of faded static and local stations. Dad would change the dial and force us to listen to news and weather reports, and farm updates. When we found a clear station playing music, it felt like we triumphed.

7. The “Sleep While Driving” Phenomenon

Most trips started at 3 AM because Dad was determined to “beat the traffic.” He would have to carry us from our beds to the car, and just like that, we would wake up three states away. Dad was able to cover a lot of miles while everyone else slept because of the lack of bathroom and snack requests.

8. The Art of Car Seat Territory Wars

We had a small imaginary line that divided our seating arrangements on long car rides. I used to sit behind the driver and my sister had to sit in the middle or behind the passenger. If we crossed the ‘invisible boundary’, a car fight would break out because ‘mommy’, and it became a daily occurrence that we would have to endure…. I mean we had to endure it in our car rides to avoid fights. The peace treaty type of thing would even put the real united nations to shame.

9. The Window Crank Workout

All the windows on the car were manual. To open and close it, you would have to turn a handle to make the window go up and down. If my dad didn’t make it stop, we would all be in the middle of a huge unending endurance exercise and I mean unending, it could have continued until world war 3 was finally over if it was all the way down.

10. The Great Bug Massacre

I’m sure every family had a car that would get filled every time they went on a long drive with tiny dead bugs, it just became a part of family tradition to stop at a gas station and clean the windshield with the bug wipe thing at the front of the station while my mom watched from the driver’s seat and tried to ignore the kids screaming and fighting over the bug bodies during the ‘cleaning’ process.

11. The Roadside Attraction Obsession

There are even family photos in the family album that have been taken at these places. Even if we were pressed for time, our dad always ended up having to stop the car at a tourist trap to make sure the family photos could be taken. Sometimes the photos would even be taken with added accessories that became family legends.

12. The Great Map Folding Challenge

The first challenge in using the old maps was getting the thing open. The final challenge was getting it folded again. Some people in old maps in their glove box. Getting a map out of the glove box on the highway was a huge test of patience. People still talk about how folded maps made them use their brains in new ways.

13. The Drive-In Movie Bonus

Pulling up to a drive in movie theater was always super exciting and getting into the theater was even better. The sound wasn’t coming from the movie, the mosquitoes were bad and the picture was worse, but it was still amazing.

14. The Hotel Pool Phenomenon

It always feels great to take a break from driving and being able to get into a pool even if the pool is tiny and cold even if it all feels old and disgusting. Even after driving for a while everyone is sad to leave the pool, I always thought it seems like the pool came from a desert because it feels so refreshing.

15. The Emergency Car Kit

Out of the side of the van Dad would always get out and start working on the car trying to fix something. Everyone said automotive repair should not be added to curricula while Dad taught classes while on the job with only a manual standing by to help.

16. The Souvenir Collection

Each stop had us buying a tacky souvenir such as a snow globe, a pressed penny, or one of those name keychains that never had the exact spelling of your name. These ‘treasures’ made our back window a mobile museum. By the end of the trip, we looked like a rolling gift shop.