Why Road Trip? 

For us, it started out with a simple goal.  Then, it turned into something more.

By Janet Wolfe
August 31, 2025

We’re not typical road trippers.  

AAA–the American Automobile Association–says that people take road trips for a number of common reasons, including the opportunity to travel with pets, the freedom to enjoy a flexible schedule, and the ability to avoid airport hassles.

We appreciate that people want—or need—to travel with pets, but we don’t have any.

We know that some people choose directions and destinations on the fly, but our brains don’t operate that way: we have our days planned out months ahead of time.

And we know that there are advantages to traveling by car—you go when you want, and you’re not as limited on space for luggage, souvenirs, and snacks, etc.—but that’s not why we do it.  

How We Got Started

When we took our first family road trip in 2018, we did it because we had a goal: to visit all 50 states with our kids before they graduate from high school.

It wasn’t an original idea then, and it’s certainly not one now.  But it was a new concept for us.  At the time, our summers revolved around two destinations: the campgrounds of Rocky Gap State Park in Flintstone, Maryland, our home state, and the beach, either Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey or Virginia Beach in Virginia.  They were things we loved (and still do), but they didn’t seem like enough.  I suddenly felt the need to see and do more.

Neither my husband nor I grew up in families that traveled much or far.  My parents were both born and raised in Hudson, so our summer trips, when I was a kid, were always to Upstate New York to visit family.  My husband spent most of his childhood summers split between his mother’s house in Maryland and his father’s house in Indiana.

Getting out and seeing our beautiful country appealed to both of us.

That first road trip, in 2018, got us our first four states.  Over the course of 13 days, we made stops in Cleveland, Ohio; Dearborn, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Munising, Michigan.  From there, we headed east and spent some time at Mackinac Island, Michigan, before starting the return trip home.  On paper, the trip was supposed to cover 2,109 miles.  Our hours in the car per-day ranged from just over three to almost seven, for a total of 33 hours and 42 minutes.

In reality, we covered 2,458 miles and spent just over 50 hours in the car.  Even our last day ended up growing in scope.  Instead of driving seven hours from Mackinaw City, Michigan, to Cleveland, Ohio, where we had planned to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and spend the night, we—all four of us—decided to forgo Cleveland (there was a pre-season football game that night that we had overlooked in our planning) and drive straight home a day early.  That meant 12 hours in the car instead of five on the last day.  

The kids handled it—all of it—like champs.

We were so pleased with the way that first trip went—and by how well the kids, then 5 and 8, traveled—that we couldn’t wait to plan the next one.

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Why We’ve Continued to Road-Trip

As our trips have progressed, our time in the car has become about more than just checking states off the list. 

We know our summers with our kids are limited.  As the kids have gotten older and our schedules have gotten busier, I’ve realized that we’ve been so focused on the summers before they graduate that we haven’t considered the idea that they might lose interest in us before then.  We may not make it until graduation before they decide they’d rather spend their summer days at part-time jobs or with friends/significant others instead of with their old Mom and Dad.  

We actually like spending time in the car together.  You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey,” right?  It’s actually true.  We’ve made some great memories and discoveries about each other in the car.    

We love seeing and experiencing things in person.  Reading about an iconic landmark or watching a documentary on a national park is interesting.  We like learning more about this wonderful and vast country of ours.  But being able to experience these things for ourselves—to be able to say, yes, I’ve walked inside the Grand Canyon; felt the mist of the Horseshoe Falls on my face; dipped my toes in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean; and stood beneath the Statue of Liberty, inside the Gateway Arch, and on the grounds of the Alamo—can’t really be described.

We love having a plan but don’t mind fun surprises.  Although we do most of our research and planning long before that first pair of underwear is ever packed, we do, on occasion, do research while on the road.  That’s how we ended up visiting City Museum (so fascinating!) in St. Louis, Missouri, and how we stumbled upon the small, former gold-mining town of Oatman, Arizona (the burros!). 

We like trying regional foods.  I’ve eaten bison in South Dakota and elk in Montana.  We’ve tried beignets in New Orleans and authentic deep-dish pizza in Chicago.  And we’ve sampled barbecue in Kansas City, lobster rolls in Maine, and runzas in Nebraska.  Every time we try something unique to an area, we’re reminded how amazingly diverse our united states are.

We road-trip because it opens our kids’ eyes to their possible futures.  After that first road trip in 2018, our son wanted to spend more time in Michigan.  After the 2021 trip, he wanted to live in Colorado.  Upon our return home in 2022, our daughter decided she was going to move to Texas and raise horses.  Everywhere we go, we expose our kids to different cultures, different climates, and different lifestyles.  We expose them to job opportunities and locations they may not otherwise consider.  And although it would make me sad (selfishly) to see them move far away, I love seeing our kids envision themselves in worlds outside of our own.

Most of all, however, we road-trip because we like it.  We look forward to our adventures every year, and we’re always sorry when they come to an end.


What About You?

Just as our reasons for road-tripping don’t match AAA’s list, your reasons may look nothing like ours, and that’s okay.  Why you choose to go is as personal and unique as you and your family.  That’s part of the appeal of road trips.  You are in total control of how long you’re gone, what pace you set, and what you see and do while you’re away.  

Where will your road trip take you?