Some of my most vivid memories of childhood are road trips with my mom or with the whole family as I got older.  Road trips are not just any vacation.  They are the vacations that almost take longer to get to than the actual time spent at the destination.  They are those trips that start before the crack of dawn and usually end with somebody yelling, “I will never do that again” or “STOP TOUCHING ME!”.

I know that doesn’t sound like fun, but stories are told, junk food is purchased, and road games are played.  You suck on juice boxes while eating 16 hour old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  You see mountain ranges and beaches and sometimes stay in the weirdest “hotels”.

The road trip I currently have in mind is the one that my family took to Punta Tombo, Argentina in 1998.  We were living in Bahia Blanca, Argentina for 2 1/2 years while my dad was relocated for his job.   I was 16 and my little sisters were 8 and 3.  Mom had found out that Punta Tombo had warm weather penguins (Magellanic penguins to be exact) that we could walk around with, so we loaded up into the car and started the drive.

We drove for about 8 hours and stopped in Puerto Madryn for the night.  Mom and Dad found out that we could take a catamarran tour to see Right Whales the next morning.  It was amazing.  At first you think you won’t see anything at all, and then all of the sudden, there are whales right off the side of the boat!  Even a moody 17 year old can enjoy that!  To this day, I enjoy those pictures and remember how amazing that was.

The next day we drove the remaining 4 hours to Punta Tombo, parked, and literally walked maybe 20 steps before we were surrounded by curious penguins.  Apparently, people break the park rules and feed the buggers because they would not leave my little sisters alone.  It was hilarious!  Shoe laces were pecked and the 4 year old was chased around a little before Mom told the birds to scoot.

We stayed in the park for at least 3 hours and just walked around taking pictures.  The birds were nesting in holes under bushes, so we could see the eggs every once in a while.  Magellanic penguins don’t have to keep the eggs warm like cold weather penguins, so sometimes you could see a whole nest of eggs with an early hatchling just coming out.  It was literally a once in a lifetime experience.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

When we did finally have to leave, we were exhausted.  We stopped at another hotel after 6 hours of driving and enjoyed the pool.  We had left Thursday and got back late Sunday night.  Altogether we had driven for about 24 hours of the 4 day trip.  Exhausted doesn’t cover how we felt, but it’s as close as I can get.

BUT, that was still the BEST road trip ever!

Do you have any awesome road trip memories?  Are you planning one anytime soon?