Every Other Thursday » Turning opportunity into family time

Ah, the great American, family road trip! Full of memories — and the parents periodically running out of patience with four kids in the car.

We did not plan on any family vacation of note this year. Just wasn’t in the budget. However, when Ford Motor Co. presented me with an opportunity to test drive a Flex recently, my wife and I thought, “Well, if opportunity is knocking, we might as well open the door and let her come on in.”

So, we turned the opportunity to test drive a Ford Flex to New York City into a mini-vacation for the family. (For my take on the Ford Flex, see this blog post.) I’ve been to NYC several times for business, but no one else in the family had.

Ford was going to take care of the gas on the way there, and reimburse part of the expense for a return trip (had to leave the Flex in the city). Thankfully, we were able to stay with family for the first night of the drive, and a friend of a friend who lives a block and a half from Times Square let us — a family of six — use her apartment. WOW! Talk about friendly New Yorkers (though she is originally from Michigan).

Overall, the time in NYC was great, with several highlights. See below for one, and chalk up actually meeting fellow EOT’er Dave and his wife Audrey Binkowski as another. It was a time we won’t forget.

But, remember, this post is about the great American road trip. What to do to help keeps kids entertained for a 11 or so hour drive? Here are some games that have become some of our favorites — no matter how long the drive is.

Eye spy alphabet: It’s kind of tough to play regular eye spy traveling 65+MPH, so you look for things in alphabetical order. Of course, you have to get creative at times — like the Air (okay, you can’t really spy it but creativity is required at times) or an eXit sign, etc. Of course, items in the vehicle can count.

Find three things: Similar to eye spy but one person chooses three different things and the rest of those playing try to be the first to find all three. Common things we use include an American flag, a red barn (hey, we live in the Midwest), and a _____ color car.

Who’s line / improvised story-telling: Everyone takes turns adding a new line (or two or three) to a story that often begins something like, “Jeffery was walking down the street and then….” It’s really neat to hear where the kids’ imaginations take the story.

Oh yeah. One of the highlights (video below) was when a very talented saxophonist in NYC’s Central Park played happy birthday to my youngest daughter on the day she turned 3 .

What about you?

What are your favorite long-drive, family-time games to play? Or, add a comment about a highlight from a recent family vacation and let us know why.