Our family trips to Virginia were hilarious. Sometimes we would take the Greyhound bus but most of the time my father would drive. My father and mother would pack up everything into the car including me and my two brothers. In the wee hours of the morning we would head for Virginia. They hoped we would stay asleep for the entire 7 1/2 hour ride, but of course who could sleep with all the excitement of going to grandmas house for the summer. My brothers always had to use the bathroom at the most in opportune time. For some reason, I stayed hungry and did not really want any of the fried chicken or boiled eggs my mom had made. So I complained profusely about the food. I remember saying "are we there yet" way before the t.v. commercial. My brothers and I would have snapping contests that would usually lead to me crying or them fighting. My father would say to them “if you going to fight- fight silently” and they would do it until eventually they got very tired. My mom always stayed calm. I guess because she was not the one driving and had to concentrate on the road. My father on the other hand would always be the one to let us have it all in one swipe. After that we were just fine. After all we were children just testing how far we could take our parents. We went through highs and lows on these trips. One highlight was my fathers Buick Century reached it’s 100,000th mile after arriving in his home town of Lovingston, Virginia. I can't but help to think of what wonderful memories of family I have to pass down to my children.
