Road trips, the great outdoors, and hours of boredom locked in a steamy, smelly Honda Odyssey. The all American vacation so they say. Cue my alarm clock or known by my family as mom, bursting in my room at the crack of dawn and speaking with an exhilarating tone.

“Hey buddy! Time to get up.”

“Five more minutes please,” I begged.

“There is no time; go get in the shower,” she demanded.

The three bags under my eyes jiggled as I crawled in the shower. The shower head rained down its frigid water giving me a jolt. My body began to mimic Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” moves as the water hit my back. I ended the shower abruptly at the sound of breakfast being made. I lathered my face in the strongest smelling moisturizer I could find in hope of waking the other half of my brain up. Smelling freshly like a pine tree I descended down the silk carpeted staircase. The carpets microfibers gliding across my heels.

Hoisting myself upon the chair of the breakfast bar, I pushed two Eggos down my esophagus, and flooded my mouth with a homemade berry smoothie. I ran up my stairs grabbed my 3DS’s and several books and left for the garage. My family climbed into our Honda clown car with our three dogs and our suitcases and started our nine hour journey to Boise. We began the voyage to get some snacks from the exclusive Plaid Pantry which specializes in the sale of Cool Ranch Corn Nuts. After grabbing our road trip snacks the ensemble of “Are we there yet?” began. The family choir sung this short tune:

“Are we there yet?”

“Not yet.”

“How about now.”

“If you ask one more tim so help me we are going home!”

It is safe to say there was not a following encore. As we continued down the straight and monotonous highway, the only thing to see within our general vicinity was the repeating layout of farm land and haybales mixed with the occasional horse or chicken pin. Starting to feel my excitement whiter away I attempted to rejuvenate my mind with a horror movie. Within thirty minutes of A Quiet Place., the surrounding farmland began to give me a Children of the Corn vibe. Wishing not to get car sick I skipped over the activity of reading. Remembering one last option of entertainment I pulled out my two 3Ds’s, plugged in Mario Kart and played until both batteries had died. Realizing I had nothing fun to turn to I sat quietly in the car for the next four hours.

I now know that no amount of entertainment will ever be enough for a road trip. Since then I have learned to pack several extra batteries, a collection of movies, and several brain puzzles. As for the rest of the car ride I spent it listening to my parents verbally plan our trips itinerary. In between our chats, the drowning sound of local radio stations could be heard throughout the crowded minivan. With a little help from a blanket and a pillow I was able to fall asleep in the car. As I dreamt of finally arriving at our hotel, we approached the town of Napa which was only twenty minutes from Boise. With what felt like a century we made it to the hotel. We checked in, and collapsed on our king size beds. The next morning the real fun of the trip began, but first we had to get in the car and drive once again...