When I was a kid we went on quite a few road trips. We had one of those big conversion vans with the comfy captains chairs and the big couch on the back. We'd all pile in, 2 parents, 2 kids and 2 dogs.
Whatever did we do to entertain ourselves in those long car rides?
I started thinking about this while I was driving through Kansas with a dripline of internet access on my iPhone. The kids were watching a movie on the in-car dvd system, playing games on an ipad and an old iPhone. My internet connection was so slow I found myself getting whiney. There wasn't a thing to look at for miles. The music was off so i was listening to the movie the kids were watching… I sent out a tweet hoping AT&T would magically turn my mobile access back on so I could keep reading staus updates on Facebook. That's just not right! My kids weren't complaining… There wasn't any arguing… Just in my own head.
Stuck in the car for what seemed like days 25 some years ago we'd talk to eachother, listen to music on our Walkmans, play games and sleep. The brilliance of having internet on the road now is the magnitude of entertainment at our fingertips. Apparently the scenery just isnt enough. Don't joke… There's a few trees in Kansas!
I think this is when we stop and realize there's too much technology. Whatever happened to being self entertained? I packed activity bags for the kids. New books, colored pencils, stickers and pocket suzed toys. 10 hours in and I haven't heard much complaining from anyone but me. I'm always talking about being creative… Where'd my creativity go? It's here, it just heard vacation and wanted a mindless moment.
I've been spoiled with all this internet access. I think it's time to remember where all this technology came from… It's too bad I had to be stuck in a 2×3′ space to remember that I'm more entertaining than I give myself credit for….
So whatcha wanna play now?
I spy something green….
For college I traveled the CO => KS and back stretch of I-70 often!
Like you, I fondly remember the days of reading and self-entertainment during a long road trip. My kids, plugged in t their iPods and DVD players, miss out on what the space to think and create offered my sisters and me.
I like the pix!