Family travel has changed dramatically over the years, especially around the holidays.
Alamo, an established car rental company for family and leisure travel, asked me to share one of my holiday car travel stories from when I was a kid, and then compare it to how my family travels today.
Growing up, I was fortunate enough to take holiday trips with my parents almost every year. Our go-to destination was to Cape May, NJ – where my grandparents, my Nanny and PopPop, lived. I have fond memories of Christmastime when I would pray for it to snow – though it never did! Those week-long vacations still resonate with me today.
The travel was always the same. We would pack up the car and make the 1100-mile, 18 hour road trip from Florida to the Jersey Shore … and back again. Until I was 9-years-old I was an only child, this was before the days of iPads and personal DVD players, so needless to say, the road trip was always painfully boring. I used to make up games to quietly play alone. I remember one of them being “count the cars”, where I would literally count how many cars we passed. Exciting stuff.
There were two stops on every road trip that I always looked forward to. The first was South of the Border, the mid-way point between home and our destination. The second was the Cape-May Lewis Ferry, which we boarded with our car from Delaware to Cape May. I knew that when we got to the ferry that my grandparents would be on the other side and the holidays would begin.
My family's travel is a bit different now, but that's for another post! Alamo knows that the holidays bring enough stress of their own, that's why they're giving additional discounts on their already competitive rental prices this season. Customers can find all of Alamo's current deals on the home page of Alamo.com. Additionally, Alamo Insiders can save an extra 10% or more on their rental--It’s simple (and free!) to join: https://www.alamo.com/offer/dwom
Win It!
Leave a comment with your favorite holiday travel story and enter to win a Then and Now Prize Pack from Alamo--
- $100 AMEX gift card
- “1000 Places To see Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz
- 16oz Wake-up Coffee Mug
- Relaxed Old Cap
Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter:
Alamo provided me with a prize pack of my own as a thank you for writing this post. However, the views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.
Margaret Smith
Last year, my sons and I went by train to visit my Dad and Aunt in So. Carolina. While on the train my youngest son got talking to another boy about his age and then I started talking to his Mom. Turned out that they were going down to So. Carolina also, to visit relatives. After talking for awhile more, we found out that they were staying at thier relative house, which was on the same block as my Dads. The boys got to play together during our trip and had a ball. Talk about a small world.
Thanks so much and Happy Holidays 🙂
stephanie
i dont really have any story's but i love going to the beach
Mary Happymommy
When I was 11 my mother was dating a guy who's family lived in Houston, so we flew there from New Jersey for Christmas. It was very awkward watching this family celebrate their Christmas together and feeling like an outsider/intruder. Houston was nice, though.
Jessie C.
My favorite Christmas travel story is meeting all family members in Paris. It was super exciting and a huge party.
Kelly D
The farthest we ever went for the holidays was NJ, but as for other road trips, my parents would constantly get lost and one time the floorboard in the front of our car starting smoking from a little fire... oops.
Elena
I loved the road trip around Europe. We saw so many beautiful places.
Emily
We use to go to Disney World every Christmas.
Starr Greenwell
I really don't have any holiday travel stories, although we did used to go to Disneyland on Thanksgiving.
Lisa Brown
I went to Italy with my mother when I was 11. It was really hot 🙂
Sonya Morris
Disney with the kids and something funny always happens!
Jennifer Marie
We went to Kentucky right before Thanksgiving and I left my 3 year old sons most truste blanket at home. Oops!! At least he is broken from the blanket now! 🙂
Laura Jacobson
My favorite was a long time ago, I was a teen, my parents got me on a plane and I went to visit my grandmother in Florida for a couple week. Had the best time! She passed away about 10 years ago, still miss her dearly...but will always remember my special Christmas trip!
Thomas Murphy
My friends and I drove to Canada before. We sang a lot and I'm sure sounded really bad.
Adrienne gordon
Mine is the same each year, going to MA for thanksgiving
Stephanie V.
When we lived in TX, drove to LA for christmas eve. Driving in a station wagon with a family of 6 was an adventure (or nightmare) in itself.
nickie
Not really, just a few road trips. Those are always fun.
John Hutchens
no trips for the christmas holiday
Cynthia C
I once traveled to Hawaii over Christmas and thought it was funny to see Santa at the mall under the palm trees. I'm used to snow.
Cynthia C
Shared on fb
http://www.facebook.com/cynthia.conley.5/posts/537978432897990
April V.
When the family packed up and moved from the West coast to the East coast, it was a big production. Three kids, two parents, one bird, one cat, two cars and a giant moving truck. We took it slow and did some sightseeing on the way but I was really too young to remember all of that. What I do remember is that the cat and bird were being transported in the unmanned car that was being towed by the truck. We had to stop regularly to rescue the bird from the cat who had gotten out of his clever prison which was a giant cardboard living area filled with fun stuff and a litter box that took up the entire back seat and trunk of the car. When we finally arrived at our destination, the cat had had enough and ran off. We soon found out she had adopted one of our new neighbors so we let her be. I'm glad I was very young for that trip, I bet my parents had an awful time!
Tari Lawson
We took our boys on a road trip out west a couple years ago. Seeing the Grand Canyon was the highlight. While we were hiking down the Kaibib trail, my 8 year old turned to me and said "this is better than Disney." He was right :).
Janet W.
My favorite holiday travel story was when we went to CA to visit my daughter and ended up seeing 3 other couples we used to know! 2 of them were from different states! We saw them all in the Atlanta Airport and thought what are the odds?!
Sara Wood
I went into labor while we were driving across country to my parents house!
Mary Beth Elderton
when my son was little I used to make a play space in the back of the car--before the carseat laws--and take off on holiday trips to see family in two-three different towns. We'd crank up music and sing, have a huge Shoney's breakfast, then maybe a dessert for lunch 🙂
Ellen Casper
Last Christmas we went on a cruise. Wonderful time!
MelissaO
Hmmm.....7 years ago, I brought my dog from Mexico to New England to live just before the holidays and it was pretty comical to see him participate in all our holiday traditions. Got sick from turkey on Thanksgiving, unwrapped his first Xmas presents, and flipped out with joy at his first snowfall.
wolverina401 at gmail dot com
Sarah S
Jacksonville, Florida. We were stalked by alligators while fishing in a pond on the golf course....
Amanda Sakovitz
one year after christmas eve we were supposed to drive my grandmother home from my aunts house. we drove for about 10 minutes before someone realized she wasnt in the car with us lol she was still at my aunts
Kathy S
We stay at hotel near my family. One year we were the only guests in the entire hotel.
Kim H
I do not travel at Christmas time
Susan Chester
We stay close to home during the holidays, everybody we love lives here!
Suzanne K
The only one that I remember was going to see my grandparents in Germany by ship. I got my head stuck in railings.
Tina M
Road trip to Chicago with my family
Barbara Montag
The only one I can think of is when we went to South Dakota.
Loved the Black Hills and so many things to see!
Other than that we're usually at home.
Thank you.
Barbara Montag
FB share: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.montag.7/posts/306091029494926
Tamar
My favorite holiday trips are Thanksgiving with my mom because she cooks some great meals. Nothing funny really happens, but it's fun to be with the family.
Penny Snyder
My favorite holiday travel story would have to be going to Florida to visit family with the children - such great memories! [email protected]
Julie Cutshaw
My favorite holiday travel memories are when we were in the Navy and no matter what duty station state we lived in. we always felt ours hearts & feet needed to be back in Tennessee at both our home town. You see, I lived just two houses down from my husbands house where he lived with his mom and dad, ever since the age of 9yrs old. He was 2 yrs older than me, we were neighborhood friends and lived there until we married at ages 17 and 19 yrs. Then we left and had a 20 yr Naval life until he retired. So every year we wode drive back into Tennessee and stay at my parents log cabin home for Christmas. Our funny story is that when it came time to go to his parents house to eat a holiday meal or open gifts...we just pulled the gifts in a wagon to there house and walked there because it was only a 300 feet distance. So our hearts and feet (lol) always came home to our Tennessee roots and home town for Christmas.
[email protected]
Denise S
I don't travel for the holidays.
patricia skinner
I havent travelled at Christmas but we did take a roadtrip and it was so windy that we thought we would be blown off the highway.
Crystal F
We've only went on one trip and it was during the summer. We went to the beach and had a blast. It was flooding at the time (normal flooding) so people were using canoes in the roads. It was pretty funny to see. Thank you!
Patricia Treskovich
took a train from Philly to Miami beach
Kenny F
we got lost
Jennifer Short
With all my family living within an hour, we never traveled anywhere at Christmas. When I was in college, though, it was a 12 hour drive home, and I can remember three of us alternating between singing Christmas carols to the top of our lungs and 99 Bottles of Beer all the way through.
Barbara Montag
Daily FB share: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.montag.7/posts/356458251116347
sarah hirsch
my favorite holiday travel was going to LA and spending new years eve at disneyland
Ashley Hatten
We traveled all the way across the country to AZ a few years back for Christmas with my husband's family, it was fun but a long ride!!
beth shepherd
We just always went to my granny's farm. It was fantastic, fun and carefree. How I miss her and those times.
Sue C.
One year when I was a kid we spent Christmas in Hawaii - everything seemed so non-Christmassy.
Sheila K.
My favorite holiday trip was to spend Christmas with a friend's parents, who lived on the Canadian side of the Niagara River—it was my first experience with below-freezing weather and lots and lots of snow; the view of the frozen river was absolutely gorgeous!
Donna L
One year we went to the Smoky Mountains, so my daughter could see snow.We had a friendly snow ball fight. What a good time we had.
Pat B
We lived in Maryland and my dad's family was in Oklahoma. Dad decided to visit them for Christmas so they packed up the station wagon with all of our presents hidden under sheets in the back, like we didn't know they were there. It was the only time we went for Christmas and was pretty cool.
Tabathia B
I remember when we took the kids to Myrtle Beach and we had a limited budget and couldn't afford to stay on the beach and we had to travel about 45 minutes away with beach sand before we could shower and the a/c went out also
Mary Calabrese
I still have many memories of traveling to Italy in the 1970's with my almost my entire family (9 of us went).
Barbara Montag
Daily FB share: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.montag.7/posts/556052581075994
June L
My favorite was when my husband and I visited his family for Christmas. I was given a cookbook that is tradition to give to the wives. I felt accepted.
Eve
No trip story to tell we usually stay local but I loved it when my friends spent christmas with family a few years back
ky2here
We drive to Florida for new Years. Some stories are not appropriate for family oriented blogs. We've seen things!
Daniel M
when we were young we used to go over our grandmothers house every year, never did like her cooking
Connie T
One year my dad's side of the family decided to have a camp out for Christmas. It was different and so much fun!
Cori Westphal
We took our kids to Gooseberry Falls in Duluth, MN this past summer. We spent a long, wonderful day at the falls and exporing the area. On the way home, my son asked why it was called Gooseberry Falls, since he didn't see one goose all day!
coriwestphal at msn dot com
Kyl Neusch
went to disney a few years back
Miz Vickik
We love to go to Florida as a family, and once accidentally went north instead of south for a whole hour before we caught on!
Justin Comeau
I waslooking forward to traveling to Denver but instead, when I got there I caught the flu and was stuck in bed the entire trip.
robyn paris
my favorite travel time was when I traveled with my teenage child to san franciso we had a wonderful time.
Valerie Taylor Mabrey
always such a trip take the two dogs (one an english sheep dog) and the three kids to my mom's house. 500 miles of events, laughs and sore bottoms.
vmkids3 at msn dot com
Leslie L. Stanziani
The only trip we ever tried to make for the holidays never happened.We were only going two hours away but had too turn around half way there.My youngest brother it seems had the chickenpox.No one wanted to risk giving them to other family members.I was 10 at the time and after that we never attempted again to take a holiday trip.
Angela Cisco
I have never actually taken a holiday trip, seems like to many things happen and I'd rather travel during non peak times
Michelle W
We never travel for the holidays, most everyone in the family is close by.
Jodi
We went to Kentucky for a family reunion every year, and one year some of the cousins stole all the pop and made a pop river lol
JoAnn F.
We always enjoyed staying home for Christmas when I was a child and still do with my children. We have gone to relatives in the past but nothing beats home sweet home.
jofo120 at yahoo dot com
Katie R.
I traveled to Chicago to suprise my Grandparents last Christmas and when I got there it turned out they had headed to their home in Flordia early. After a four hour drive back home, I was still able to spend Christmas with my parents.
Katie R.
Posted on FB
http://www.facebook.com/#!/katie.roch.9/posts/556590631021771
Jennifer M
The first time I flew by myself to visit my grandmother was the most memorable trip for me.
Kim W
My favorite was riding to my grandparents house in the city when I was a kid, I could not wait to share the holidays with them.
alyce poalillo
One year we went to historic Williamsburg Va for Thanksgiving and it was so warm we went swimming in the outdoor pool. We really enjoyed the weather and the great historic style dinner. it was very different than the cold traditional Nj one.
MaryR
Thanksgiving week was really snowy...we were driving on I-70 and slid on some ice and my car turned around and was facing the oncoming traffic...lucky we were able to pull off to the side before a car reached us....
brenda
never gone anywhere for the holidays 🙁
wendy wallach
favorite holiday story was riding the train from NY to florida in the 70-s to go to Disneyworld. It was long and hot but the thrill of seeing disney world made me forget the bad and only remember the good!
marilyn
driving 8 hrs to west palm beach..nothing funny happened but it was an awesome road trip
jdmimi at gmail dot com
Erica C.
We've never really gone anywhere for the holidays, but I like that. Our families live close to us and we enjoy going to each other's house throughout the holidays.
harolde
My favorite memory are our trips to Florida when I was young.
Bryan E.
Thanks for the giveaway...favorite trips were with my future wife to Baja California - Mexico when we were in college, spring or summer break !
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