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Road Trip - Family Vacation

Where Was the Farthest Destination You Traveled to as a Kid?

by Hunter Crane | Cravings Gourmet Popcorn

Now that spring break season is upon us, it got the team at Cravings to begin wondering where families tend to take their children for family vacations back in the day. We wondered...

  • How far would a parent drive for a family vacation?
  • Where were they driving from?
  • What were they driving?
  • Anything to pass the time?
Obviously, we knew that this would dig up many nostalgic memories as childhood road trips with the family are things that almost anyone has experienced.


Nowadays, most Northern folks head towards the sunshine

More often than not, the "sunshine" is usually most heavily sought after in the coastal regions. These modern road trips are usually planned months in advance; hotel, food, activities, and all. Obviously, this is done in an effort to make the itinerary for the trip as airtight as possible. However, for the families that travel further than going straight down to Florida, more trouble could be in store. 

From my personal experience, the further the distances that these trips have been set out, the more likely it is for the trip to head south. Or, I could just be thinking of how every movie from the 80's that revolves around family road trips tends to progress where small inconveniences tend to pile into one massive crapshoot in the middle of the trip...  

family broken down in car on side of road
 
Regardless, we wondered... where's the farthest that people have road-tripped to as kids?

What people had to say...

We took to the Craving's Popcorn Facebook Page at the beginning of March and started a questionnaire that asked fans where the farthest place was that their parents ever drove for a family vacation, and we got some very interesting answers. Some of the best that we read were in total contrast to the spring break trip trends we tend to see in today's day-and-age.

Here are some of the farthest destinations that people took as kids.

1. Kalamazoo, MI to Alberta, Canada (1,774 miles)

Seventeen-hundred miles... just shy of two miles from matching the year that the Declaration of Independence was signed at Independence Hall. This comment was from Christine Baczynskyj who stated that the trip typically lasted three to four consecutive days and lasted roughly 27 hours. However, Christine mentioned making the most of the trip with her family by blasting Galaxie 500 and cruising in the classic and luxurious station wagon!

For most people that live in Michigan, they typically take vacations that takes them away from the cold weather... Some people just love the cold! 

2. South of Gates of the Arctic, Alaska (Week-long trip)

It seems that escaping the cold wasn't a massive concern for Ashley RJ, either. She stated that, as a kid, her family took a road trip to Alaska... four times. Not once, not twice... four individual trips. Each of these trips spanned about one week just to get there. Then, they would then spend "four more weeks bopping around in the RV," eventually leading to a week-long drive home.

3. Lansing, MI to California (2,340 miles)

After reading through so many road trips that had to do with heading towards colder climates, salvation was found at last. Sheree Shepherd mentioned a trip her family took from Lansing, MI to California! This wasn't a small family, mind you. She mentioned six adults and eleven kids tagging along. This was done by "a single station wagon towing a pop-up trailer, one pickup truck with a camper on it, and a motorcycle towing a tiny trailer." A trip this jam-packed would not be possible without the binder full of CD's that our parents usually had, as these were pre smart-phone days!  

 

I want my blue sports wagon and if you can't get it, I'm gonna take my business elsewhere!

After analyzing all of the responses, we noticed a common trend amongst everyone's childhood. The classic station wagon. For a very large majority, it seemed as if their parents' Wagon was the luxury vehicle of choice, especially with the ole' wooden panel on the side. Back then, Rolls Royces or Mercedes Maybachs were not necessary to have a good time. All that was needed as a kid was the classic wagon, a large road map that the parents tended to always fight over, and a similarly-bored sibling to face the back with to help mess with the surrounding traffic!

 

As always, we'd love to hear your experiences from your childhood! If you've traveled farther or have an interesting story to share, please share it with us! You can share your thoughts in the comments below and on our Facebook page at Cravings Gourmet Popcorn.

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