by Wendy
Your sisters are always up for drinks over evening card or Scrabble games
Your parents can easily out-hike you, any day of the week
Your niece and nephew think of the funniest Would You Rather questions on a car trip
There is a great variety of snacks and everyone is willing to share
There is always quality coffee around
There is always good wine and bourbon around
There is always chocolate or Nutella or gummy candy around
Your Mom can apparently find a Catholic Church anywhere on the globe
Your niece and nephew are becoming legendary car DJs
The adults are as thrilled to watch Sponge Bob on TV as the kids
The kids are as entertained watching the Food Network as the adults

Your Dad is always on the lookout for silly photo opportunities
Everyone else leaves a Utah liquor store with one shopping bag, but your husband is wheeling a cart (gotta be prepared)
Your parents get up at 3:45am to say good-bye before you drive to the airport
Your husband and brother-in-law make a 4am drive through Zion National Park even spookier by talking about aliens and scary movies. Then you all three discover the scariest thing is the vending machine coffee at the airport. That’s broken.
You’re always having conversations about future travel plans. And future dinners.

And you know you’re traveling like us when you are at a semi-sketchy rest stop and your niece and nephew spot a tetherball outside and immediately run over to re-enact scenes from Napoleon Dynamite. Your sister plays the movie’s closing song on her phone, 80s classic “The Promise” by When in Rome. And everyone laughs and you know this is the beauty of family travel and you’ll remember it just as much as the gorgeous scenery of the destination.