This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Sprint
It’s that time of year. Thousands and thousands of people will soon embark upon cross-country car treks, international flights, and long-distance train rides be home for the holidays. Thankfully, my husband and I live near all of our family and don’t have to travel this year. Yet when I was growing up, traveling in November and December was commonplace. BlogHer and Sprint teamed up to bring together some of the craziest, most eventful, most unforgettable holiday road trip stories ever. There was no doubt what I would write about. Though I was just 10 years old, the memory of one particular trip is crystal clear.
My dad served in the U.S. Army for a large span of my childhood. One of our stations was at Fort Polk, Louisiana, nearly 900 miles from South Carolina, the state both of my parents call home. During the three years of our being stationed at Polk, we made several trips back and forth between there and my grandparents’ house in S.C.
Only one of the 14-hour trips was taken by plane. Our usual mode of transportation was our minivan. Dad and Mom would wake up my sister and me in the early morning hours to begin our trek home. We would usually make it in time to sit down to supper with our relatives, late that same day.
Traveling back to our house in Louisiana was another story. To spend as much time with family as we could, we’d leave mid-morning, after breakfast sometime, meaning we had a seemingly longer trip ahead. Many times we’d stop halfway at a hotel to rest for the night, starting fresh again the next morning.
On a particular trip home after a holiday visit, however, Dad decided to drive on through. That was fine with my sister and me. We just got cozy and crashed in the backseat (me lying down in the floorboard, since child restraint laws certainly weren’t what they are today). We thought it was a great adventure! (And little did we know, it certainly would be.)
Dad was driving, music low enough for the rest of us to sleep. Mom was beside him, leaning back in the passenger seat, asleep. I was dozing in the floorboard….and my sister was above me in her car seat, sleeping soundly.
Now I must let you in on a little detail. I had a tiny little traveling companion on this particular trip. Somehow….somehow….I’d coaxed my parents to let me bring my pet Betta fish with me. Little shimmery-blue-scaled Skittles floated along with us in his octagon-shaped fishbowl. I held on tight to him for most of the car trip, but while I was resting, I’d propped his bowl against some blankets and coats, buffering him with objects to keep him upright.
Now that the scene is set, let’s commence to the chaos. About 1:30am, a loud “KA-THUNK/BANG!” shook our minivan, somewhere between Meridian and Jackson, Mississippi (in other words, in the absolute middle of nowhere). Before the sound even ended, Mom was screaming. Dad was stunned, but at the same time, harried and panicked. “I think we hit a deer. WE HIT A DEER!” he yelled. Mom clapped her hands over her mouth. She might have been crying. The van kept rolling, but Dad was slowing it down to prepare for a median stop. I was a bit dazed and confused, still not quite clear on what had just happened. I could hear our van scraping the interstate pavement as we slowed.
I glanced down beside me, peering carefully to see with only the interior car lighting shining down. His bowl. It was overturned. And Skittles. Was gone.
“WHERE’S THE FISH!?!?” I yelled frantically. I cannot even begin to describe what the next few seconds looked (and sounded) like. Dad struggled to completely pull us over and stop, all the while looking around hysterically for a lost blue fish. He put the car in park and pulled up his feet. “Here he is!” he yelled, seeing a shimmery blue fish flip-flopping all over the driver’s side floorboard. GET HIM! Oh, NO! He can’t breathe! Skittles! The yelling and the crying, it just kept on going, probably making Dad’s job a whole lot more difficult as he flung his fists around trying to grasp this wet, wriggly, freaking-out fish at his feet. “I pulled part of his fin off!” came Dad’s voice from the front. Skittles’ chance at a longer life was looking kind of grim.
Though it seemed like forever, Dad finally yelled, “I’ve got him! I’ve got him.” He handed back a convulsing blue Skittles and I held out the octagon bowl. Most had spilled out; all that remained in the bottom was about a tablespoon of water, which I had to pool by tilting it to one side.
Crying, I clutched the fishbowl to me, holding it just so, so Skittles could breathe the little bit of water left in there for him to occupy. Our hazard lights were on, and Dad got out to survey the damage. The deer had hit the front headlight on the passenger’s side, then swung around the crushed the passenger door. No broken glass, but we did have a very dented van and a front fender that was dragging the ground.
A man in a pick-up truck pulled up behind us and got out to ask if we needed help. Dad said no thanks — that we were just going to drive slowly to the next town and get a hotel and a body shop — and the guy tipped his hat at us. “Well, then, do you mind if I go back and get the deer for the meat?”
(Ahhh, good ole’ Mississippi.)
I can tell you that this story does have a happy ending. The van did make it to the next town, and we slept well that night. (Including my little sister, who slept through the entire episode. She never woke up…not for any of it.)
The car was totally re-done, and a month later you couldn’t tell anything had happened. We never did drive through the night again from SC to LA.
And Skittles did live. He got a refill in the motel bathroom and lived to be a couple of years older. But you know what? His fin never did grow back, and we’re convinced that’s why he swam noticeably lop-sided for the remainder of his days. Bless his little heart.
Courtesy of Sprint and BlogHer, one of you will win a $200 Visa gift card!
To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me a short blurb about your most crazy/hilarious/eventful holiday road trip! (OR you may leave a link to an entire holiday road trip post/story on your own blog in the comments below.) The contest will begin on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:00am PST and will end on Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 5:00pm PST. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.
Rules:
* No duplicate comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
* This giveaway is open to US residents aged 18 and older
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* Please see the official rules here.
Don’t forget to head to BlogHer’s Special Offers page and check out the other holiday road trip stories! All in all, you have NINE chances to win the Visa gift card!
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED — Thanks for participating!
The lucky winner of the $200 Visa gift card is #192, Tina Reynolds! Congratulations, Tina! I’ll be sending you an email soon. Thanks, everyone, for joining in on the fun!
Robyn (2 years ago)
My first trip with my husband (then boyfriend) we went to my timeshare in Florida. I set the whole trip up and when we picked up the rental car he asked me, “ok, which way do I go?”. I just about died! I didn’t know and I never thought to print off directions. We just decided to “wing-it” and I said if I could find the big bridge I could get us there. There are a lot of big bridges in West Palm Beach but we eventually found it and made it there. He never got iritated with me and we laughed it off. That was my most memerable trip and the day I knew I wanted to marry him!
she (2 years ago)
it was NOT hilarious on my end of things, but one holiday, we drove from ohio to florida. i was 13 and my bro was 8. not a good mix – a moody teen going thru puberty (and undiagnosed bipolar) & an annoying little brother. i spent 1/2 of the trip with my head out the window (even tho it was cold) b/c my brother had a farting problem. then, (and this is just 1 example of the “fun”things my family liked to do) we took the scenic route (a la grizzwold) and my parents pulled over so that we could watch.a.barge.pulse.sloooooowly.by. i stayed in the car.
she (2 years ago)
blogged: http://www.shebecameabutterfly.net/?p=5666
Jenny B (2 years ago)
Imagine driving what’s supposed to be about a 7 hr trip with 4 month old quadruplets……. It turned into a 9 hour drive btwn the MULTIPLE diaper changes, stopping to feed bottles,( 2 babies had bad reflux so you can only imagine the baby puke….) checking on the kids since they were rear facing and i’m a first time mom. It was a crazy trip. But they are great travelers now at 2.5 yrs. We’re starting potty training now so i’m SURE we’ll have some fun traveling times ahead!
Kelley Wood (2 years ago)
My SUV blew up on the way to Disney World for our Thanksgiving vacation!!
wood57495@yahoo.com
Jo (2 years ago)
My most memorable trips were to Pittsburgh to visit my grandparents. I had a great time when I was there, but I would be so car sick on the way out and back that it was memorable in a bad way!
Cathy (2 years ago)
When I was 8, we went on a road trip that included the family dog. Well, at one point he got car sick, and rather than sacrifice the upholstery, my father insisted that I sacrifice my MOST FAVORITE BLANKET. I’ve never recovered … Thank you for the giveaway!
NICOLE D. (2 years ago)
WHEN MY FAMILY & I DROVE TO MY GRANDMAS HOUSE IN OUR VAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND ON THE WAY THEIR SOME KIDS STARTED THROWING SNOW BALLS AT MY DADS VAN WHEN WE STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN, INSTEAD OF JUST DRIVING AWAY HE STOPPED & BACKED UP TO PULL OVER. HE GOT OUT OF THE VAN & STATED A SNOW BALL WAR WITH THE KIDS. IT TURNED OUT TO BE REALLY FUN, AND NO ONE HAD ANY HARD FEELINGS. WE ALL JOINED IN. IT WAS AWESOME. AND TO THINK ABOUT IT, IT’S REALLY KIND OF FUNNY HOW IT ALL HAPPNENED. THE KIDS THOUGHT THEY WHERE GONNA BE IN TROUBLE ONCE THEY SEEN MY DAD PULLING OVER & GETTING OUT OF THE VAN, BUT ONCE THEY SEEN HOW GOOFY MY DAD WAS, CUZ HE’S A BIG CLOWN AT HEART. THEY JUST JOINED IN. IT WAS THE BEST SNOWBALL FIGHT EVER. WE ENED UP 20 TO 30 MINS LATE AT MY GRANDMAS HOUSE FOR DINNER, AND WE ALL LOOKED LIKE WET CHERRIES, ARE FACES WHERE COLD N RED, AND ARE COATS AND SHOES WHERE SOAKED, INCLUDING MY HAIR. THE LOOK ON MY GRANDMAS FACE WAS PRICELESS ONCE WE TOLD HER. SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE GRANDMAS THAT WAS SO NURTURING & WANTED TO JUST DRY YOU OFF & MAKE YOU HOT CHOCOLATE. SHE WANTED TO MAKE SURE NO ONE WAS HURT IN A INNOCENT SNOWBALL FIGHT. SHE WAS THE BEST! AND SHE MADE SOME GREAT COOKIES!!!
Mary_fb (2 years ago)
When I was 10, we went in a road trip with my parents and siblings. I loved how we take snacks, candies, books, while the trip was supposed to last only a couple of hours, most of which we just slept. LOL!
Courtney (2 years ago)
My most memorable holiday road trip was driving to Boston with my sister, her best friend and my best friend to see Aerosmith perform live on New Year’s Eve.
Maria P. (2 years ago)
We do xmas on xmas eve in our family. One year, I had to work so I didn’t get going until about 5. I was supposed to drive about 25 miles to pick up my husband and then another 30 miles to my sister’s for xmas. I was in my dress work clothes, no boots, nothing really warm. I left work and discovered it had snowed about 8 inches and was coming down still like mad. Storm had really just gotten underway and streets were not plowed or salted yet. The next 2 hours just to pick up hubby caused my jaw to ache from clenching and my fingers were permanently crimped from gripping the wheel so tight. All I saw was white. I was so frazzled and cold and wet (from cleaning my car off without boots or gloves) that I couldn’t imagine it being any worse. It got worse. Highway was at a dead stand-still. I managed to get off there at the next exit – was going to take side streets. BAD, bad, bad idea. While the highway was blocked, the sidestreets were horribly slippery. I don’t think I even pressed the gas pedal, I just coasted along. Slid sideways and slammed into a curb where a lone mailbox on the edge of the street happened to remove my passenger mirror. I decided to just go back on the highway and sit there. I think we got to my sister’s 4 hours late. But the eggnog was good and spiked
Nick (2 years ago)
Funny thing… we got a GPS for ourselves one Christmas and we thought we’d try it out leaving my mom’s house. We of course knew the way, but we thought we;d let the GPS guide the way. It took us on so many gravel roads during the snowstorm, we weren’t sure we were going to make it home. It took double the time to get home using the smart GPS.
Annemarie (2 years ago)
Driving from Chicago to Dallas with my parents (I was about 13) and doing it in 24 hours which included sleeping at a rest area, having a flat tire and 3 bored kids stuck in the backseat of a car for that period of time.
Laureen (2 years ago)
My craziest holiday road trip occurred when I went skiing with friends during college vacation. On our way home from VT to NJ, I was driving on the NY State Thruway in the left lane during the day when all of a sudden, there was a very loud noise and I could no longer see anything in front of me except darkness. I was in shock, not immediately knowing what had happened as I continued for seconds at top speed, miraculously not veering. I turned to my friend saying “What should I do?!!” My friend answered dryly, “Slowing down would be preferable.” (I still laugh about his delivery on this line, despite our desperate situation.) It turns out that my car’s hood had come loose and flipped up onto the windshield. It was probably a good thing that the ski tips pierced the hood as they most likely kept the hood from flying off my car onto other vehicles that were traveling behind me on the highway. In the end, the car manufacturer took responsibility for what was determined to be missing washers that were to secure the hood! What a trip!
Idaho Jill (2 years ago)
On our way to visit family in Texas when I was young, my dad had to drive fast to stay in front of tornadoes. We didn’t stop, we just kept driving to beat them -it worked, luckily, but I won’t ever forget it!
Idaho Jill (2 years ago)
tweet, thanks! http://twitter.com/idahojill/status/6852094060
Idaho Jill (2 years ago)
blogged here: http://contestsandgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/9-chances-to-win-200-visa-gift-card.html
thanks!
Irene Sabo (2 years ago)
I don’t take long holiday trips because my family lives pretty close to me. But I came to US from Ukraine in 1979. That’s a long trip. I was 20 years old. It was very hard to leave my friends behind. I never got any presents for Christmas while living there.
Jodi (2 years ago)
my family drove from SC to Denver 2 separate Christmases to go skiing for a week immediately after Christmas…on one such trip, we drove part way back home and stopped for a night at a motel and discovered that (except for my baby sister) we only had the dirty clothes suitcase…the clean clothes suitcase had gotten left behind at the condo in Colorado…definitely a disappointing realization! Thankfully, they did ship the suitcase and we survived a night with no clean clothes.
Melinda (2 years ago)
we were on our way to a wedding rehearsal and got a flat tire on the highway, and it took an hour to get someone to come out and help us….then we almost got in an accident in the tow truck when they were pulling away from our car…ugh
sean (2 years ago)
We were going to myrtle beach and we were making weird comments and gestures in the car and this woman saw us, and 100 miles down the road we stopped for gas, and she was there…the woman who had been laughing at us for miles…how embarassing
Joy (2 years ago)
My mom sister and I were traveling home from NJ and we aren’t particularly attractive when this car full of boys pulls up with a sign that says “show us your breasts” needless to say we did NOT
Kathy K (2 years ago)
We dont travel a lot for the holidays as our families are close by. One year we were in Florida and went to a Jags/Patriots football game (he’s a jag fan, I’m a pats fan). The Pats won and I enjoyed the win for the rest of the day. We flew home early the next morning. Everyone was so friendly traveling on christmas morning!
Terri Donnelly (2 years ago)
The kids were sitting in the back seat and my mom in the front and the got her hair tangled up in a windup car.
Jeanette Huston (2 years ago)
When I graduated from Boot Camp in the USMC I was so ready to get out of Paris Island South Carolina. I was walking on egg shells. No one thought I would actually graduate. I didn’t think I would make it either.
My family greeted me on graduation day with a diet coke and a snickers. It was a feast for someone who spent 3 months without anything slightly edible. Then we were gone. We stopped by Disney World on the way back home to Texas. It was just me, my parents, and Joey. Joey was my younger brother who is now in The Marine Corps.
I paid for everything seeing how I had three months of paydays saved up. We had a blast. We stopped by the beach.
We got home for Christmas. We live in a really small town. Most people are born there, grow up there, and end up spending their whole lives there. So when I came home the treated me like a hero. My whole family was there. I didn’t feel like a hero but everyone seemed so proud that I made it.
It was a special Christmas. I was never so happy to see home. It is hard to believe that was 11 years ago. Now it is almost impossible to get everyone back together for the holidays. I will never forget the holiday I came back from boot camp;-)
chewysmum79@yahoo.com
Jeanette Huston (2 years ago)
I blogged this giveaway here
http://mommyblessingsinsmallbundles.blogspot.com/2009/12/1-of-9-chances-to-win-200.html
Jeanette Huston (2 years ago)
I tweeted this giveaway here
http://twitter.com/gijeanie/status/6910700298
faith24 (2 years ago)
My friends and I decided to take a road trip from OK to Dallas and since none of us ever drove there before we got a GPS system to guide us. Little did we know that when we stopped to re-fuel a car we also had to enter our destination again. Our GPS didnt reroute for us and a pleasant lady’s voice instructed us to “keep going straight”. After about an hour of driving straight we suspected something might be wrong. We consulted a map instead of listening to GPS and found out we were going east the whole time – instead of going south. We almost ended up by the Arkansas border and a trip that was supposed to take 5 hours took nearly 8!!! Thanks GPS!
Carolyn G (2 years ago)
My most memorable road trip wa when I was about 9 and me and my family drove from Los Angeles to Costa Rica. We drove through all the SOuthwestern states, then we drove all the way down through Mexico and then Central America. It was the most amazing trip I have ever taken. It was fun and fabulous and we learned so much. We also got to see amazing things like Mayan Ruins, rivers, and volcanoes. It will always be something I won’t forget.
Carolyn G (2 years ago)
tweeted http://twitter.com/carogonza/status/6921090764
Carolyn G (2 years ago)
blogged http://theartofrandomwillynillyness.blogspot.com/2009/12/blogher-and-sprint-1231.html
Amy B (2 years ago)
the only thing that has happened to me was when I was younger, my little brother who was 6 at the time decided he was going to sleep half the trip that my family was taken. He did indeed sleep half way but he woke up just as we were in the middle of the underground tunnels that are dark. He started screaming saying the aliens got me. We laughed for so long about that and still tease him to this day.
Talina of Harvest of Daily Life (2 years ago)
Pacific coast highway road trip
I blogged my story in 3 parts here: http://www.harvestofdailylife.com/adventures-of-traveling-the-pacific-co...
Basically we had one issue after the next. Arriving at the camp site after dark, not getting the tent or fire going easily, bringing left over smores in the tent, a bear coming in after the smores…
Rescuing a motorcyclist hanging from a cliff on the way home, draining a tuna can out the car window while driving… All our trips are especially memorable because of murphy’s law. Everything that can go wrong certainly does with us. Makes for fun stories though.
Talina of Harvest of Daily Life (2 years ago)
Just tweeted: http://twitter.com/GiveawayQueen/status/6943535666
Linda (2 years ago)
My most memorable holiday trip was getting snowed in at my grandparents house…it was actually a lot of fun, would love nothing more than to get snowed in at home for the holidays this year!
Deb Anderson (2 years ago)
Here’s the link to my blog entry
http://tnshadylady.blogspot.com/2009/12/roadtrip-down-memory-lane-i-love-road.html
Deb Anderson (2 years ago)
tweet
http://twitter.com/tnshadylady/status/6955995081
Deb Anderson (2 years ago)
blog link
http://tnshadylady.blogspot.com/2009/12/muse-reviews-ha-ha-hilarious-holiday.html
Cindy (2 years ago)
We once tried to set out for my parents’ house, 300 miles away, in a big snowstorm. With my 1 year old son in the back seat. We figured if we could just make it to northern Virginia, we’d be out of the weather. That was dumb.
We didn’t even make it down our driveway! We lived on top of a mountain (still do, but a different mountain) and the driveway was very long and curvy. We slid off the edge of the second curve, had to walk back up to the top of the hill lugging the little one and our suitcases. Sad Christmas, that year. Missed my folks. That was one long trip, huh?
Cindy (2 years ago)
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/Getalonghome/status/6962681794
Cindy (2 years ago)
Blogged here: http://getalonghome.com/2009/12/sprint-giveaway/
Courtenay (2 years ago)
The most eventful holiday road trip I can think of right now was just a couple years ago. Me, my fiance and one of her sisters decided to take a driving trip to New York City to experience it during the Christmas season. We did a lot of the typical touristy things like ride the Staten Island Ferry, visit Central Park and go to Macy’s. Plus we stood for a few hours in the very cold weather at the today Show and were on tv with our OSU Buckeye things displayed. It was definitely a fun trip.
Courtenay (2 years ago)
Here’s my tweet for you: http://twitter.com/courtenay27/statuses/6975977807
Thanks!!!
TheAngelForever (2 years ago)
A few years ago we went to visit my brother for Chanukah. They live about 5 hours from us. The trip to them was rather uneventful. The trip home, well it was interesting to say the least. The trip took us 7 hours! We started off and almost immediately realized that we had to get gas for the car. So we stopped at the first rest area to tank it up. While there we heard a rumble coming from the back seat. My then 7 month old son filled up his diaper. Oy! I took him out and noticed he was a little wet. Sure, you betcha. . . diaper blow out. I managed to find a place to change him amid screams and protests of new clothing. We get back on the road and my newly potty trained older son proclaims that he needs to GO! So he chants this the entire way to the next stop. We get there and he refuses to go. He gets inside howls about the blowers in the bathroom and comes back out. We start back up…about 10 minutes later my son says he needs to go potty again. This time I take him in and he says he does not have to go, but is hungry. I take him back to the car for snacks. We go back on the road. Suddenly we realize a pattern. Each time my oldest sees restaurant signs on the highway = a request for a potty break. By the time we were almost home my parents called us. Hubby and I were in hysterics. We could not stop laughing because we must have made at least 6 pit stops for potty, eating, nursing and diapers.
Laura C (2 years ago)
My most memorable holiday road trip was two years ago on New Year’s Eve. We drove through a blizzard from Detroit to Chicago (lake-effect snow, too!) for my brother-in-law’s wedding, only to drive back two days later in an ice storm! The craziest thing about the trip was that we turned around and did it all over again–through another ice storm–the following year. It was a lovely wedding, but that was enough white-knuckle driving for us for a while. We even got on the highway going the wrong direction at one point because all the road signs were covered in snow and we couldn’t tell which way was east. What a trip!
Molomatic (2 years ago)
My most memorable holiday road trip would be when we drove past a bar in a small town and five Santas came stumbling out! Too much egg nog, i guess.
Shawna OBrien (2 years ago)
I used to live in Hawaii. My Step Brother was a surfer. He wanted to go surfing at Waipio Valley on Christms day, so off we went. To get into the valley, the road is so steep that you must have a 4 wheel drive to make it. Once you get into the valley, the road is basically nothing more than dirt roads throughout. We headed towards the beach, set up camp & were awoken at about 2am with a huge storm moving in. We decided to pack up and get out while we could. However, the dirt road that we followed to the beach was now turning into a river from the heavy rains. We pursued on any way until we got stuck in a large pool of water. We were stuck for awhile and the car was fairly submerged and we were soaked. Eventually a large tour vehicle came by and towed us out. We made it up the steep road and then we made it about 1 mile outside of Kailua and our vehicle completed shut down. I guess all that water from being stuck in the river messed with the electrical system and caused the car to just die. It is amazing that we made it as far as we did. At the time none of this was very funny, but now that I look back it is Hillarous.
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
Shawna OBrien (2 years ago)
Tweeted
http://twitter.com/ShawnaMichelle2/status/7085158849
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
Sarah W. (2 years ago)
Check out our story at: http://www.thewehkamps.com/2008/12/ankara-to-brussels.html
Sarah W. (2 years ago)
Here’s my tweet for you: http://twitter.com/sarahdeals