I would have packed the car more often

I have an absolute favorite article that I read every once in a while, I share it often with friends and I keep a copy of it in my computer desk drawer. I sometimes think about breaking it up and blogging about it.

Its "10 lessons of parenting from one wise guy who's done the dad thing" by Hugh O'Neill

I thought about this part from that article all weekend:

1. I Would Have Packed the Car More Often

Some of my most vivid family memories are from on the road - midnight swimming at Disneyworld, hiking above the treeline as night swallowed Colorado. Sure, in part they stand out just because they were exceptions to the dailyness of our three-bedroom cape in New Jersey, and we saw new places. But for me, the appeal of traveling as a team isn't that it's broadening, but the exact opposite; it's sweetly narrowing. Somehow, when you're lifted out of your normal habitat, dropped into an unfamiliar place where nobody knows who the four of you are, you see your team with fresh eyes. Somehow, after a day at Colonel Wilson's Reptile Village, with all of you cuddled in two beds in the $39.95-a-night anonymity of motel America, watching some corny movie and eating pizza, you feel bound, not merely by DNA or circumstance, but by the memories you've made together. No passports or planning or piles of money required. Just go. Three days hiking in the nearest national park. A weekend trip to watch the Yanks play in Camden Yards. Just go.

It was exhausting to pack and it continues to be exhausting to unpack - but we had so much fun!!!!! I have a mountain of clothes to wash so I'll share more details later. but here are some snapshots: