(From a conversion van fan...)Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I'm a workaholic.
Taking a day off is very difficult for me, but sometimes I force myself to do it. My husband and I reserved a condo in Florida and began planning our vacation. I put in a request for paid time off at my job and started counting down the days until I could relax on the beach with my loved ones.
People always feel like they know what's best for others, so I expected to be bombarded with unsolicited advice about our family trip. The first question everybody asked us was, "How are you going to get there?" When I said we were taking a conversion van, many folks were horrified. "With the kids? How is that going to work? Wouldn't you rather fly?", they asked, insisting that there was no possible way that I could fit three kids, a husband and all of our luggage in one van.
I just laughed. I had already visited my local car rental agency and knew that the vans were very spacious. My mind was made up about renting a conversion van and no snide remark was going to change how I felt.
Our departure day arrived quickly. I decided to start things off right by oversleeping. I still can't believe that nobody woke me up. After dashing out of bed and throwing on some comfy clothes, I raced outside and discovered that my hubby and kids had already loaded up the van. The back was filled with suitcases, duffel bags and backpacks. I also spotted a cooler and a few beach umbrellas.
The drive was a peaceful one. Short trips to the store often lead to heated arguments amongst my youngest two, but our vehicle had enough room for everybody to stay happy as we crossed each state line. Maxie played her video games while Robbi read the latest vampire novel. I was worried that Lily would feel squished in the middle, but she had enough room to stretch out her arms and practice her cheer routine through most of Georgia.
There was a gap between my seat and my husband's, allowing me to easily whip my neck around and attempt to catch the kids misbehaving. I didn't catch them doing a single bad thing during the drive to or from Florida - and believe me, I checked often. Cool air blasted from the vents, and the smooth leather seat felt absolutely luxurious against my thighs.
We stopped halfway to the beach to stretch our legs and eat our lunch since we were all starving. Thank goodness we were able to bring the cooler instead of wasting money on overpriced fast food. We drove to Illinois once and had to stop at five different restaurants along the way since we couldn't fit the cooler in our tiny car.
Our vacation was incredible. We loaded the van up with seashells and souvenirs on the last day and headed home. Maxie had the brilliant idea of mailing shells back to our house after I told the kids that they could only bring what would fit in the van. This statement backfired on me after my kids loaded up the back with seven giant bags of shells and sand.
My coworkers still can't believe that we had such a smooth ride to Florida in a conversion van. The vehicle got surprisingly good gas mileage and we only had to fill it up a few times each way. Plane tickets would have cost us thousands of dollars and then we would have been stuck sitting at the airport for hours. We're planning a trip to California next year and will definitely be renting another van.
Clik here to view.
I'm a workaholic.
Taking a day off is very difficult for me, but sometimes I force myself to do it. My husband and I reserved a condo in Florida and began planning our vacation. I put in a request for paid time off at my job and started counting down the days until I could relax on the beach with my loved ones.
People always feel like they know what's best for others, so I expected to be bombarded with unsolicited advice about our family trip. The first question everybody asked us was, "How are you going to get there?" When I said we were taking a conversion van, many folks were horrified. "With the kids? How is that going to work? Wouldn't you rather fly?", they asked, insisting that there was no possible way that I could fit three kids, a husband and all of our luggage in one van.
I just laughed. I had already visited my local car rental agency and knew that the vans were very spacious. My mind was made up about renting a conversion van and no snide remark was going to change how I felt.
Our departure day arrived quickly. I decided to start things off right by oversleeping. I still can't believe that nobody woke me up. After dashing out of bed and throwing on some comfy clothes, I raced outside and discovered that my hubby and kids had already loaded up the van. The back was filled with suitcases, duffel bags and backpacks. I also spotted a cooler and a few beach umbrellas.
The drive was a peaceful one. Short trips to the store often lead to heated arguments amongst my youngest two, but our vehicle had enough room for everybody to stay happy as we crossed each state line. Maxie played her video games while Robbi read the latest vampire novel. I was worried that Lily would feel squished in the middle, but she had enough room to stretch out her arms and practice her cheer routine through most of Georgia.
There was a gap between my seat and my husband's, allowing me to easily whip my neck around and attempt to catch the kids misbehaving. I didn't catch them doing a single bad thing during the drive to or from Florida - and believe me, I checked often. Cool air blasted from the vents, and the smooth leather seat felt absolutely luxurious against my thighs.
We stopped halfway to the beach to stretch our legs and eat our lunch since we were all starving. Thank goodness we were able to bring the cooler instead of wasting money on overpriced fast food. We drove to Illinois once and had to stop at five different restaurants along the way since we couldn't fit the cooler in our tiny car.
Our vacation was incredible. We loaded the van up with seashells and souvenirs on the last day and headed home. Maxie had the brilliant idea of mailing shells back to our house after I told the kids that they could only bring what would fit in the van. This statement backfired on me after my kids loaded up the back with seven giant bags of shells and sand.
My coworkers still can't believe that we had such a smooth ride to Florida in a conversion van. The vehicle got surprisingly good gas mileage and we only had to fill it up a few times each way. Plane tickets would have cost us thousands of dollars and then we would have been stuck sitting at the airport for hours. We're planning a trip to California next year and will definitely be renting another van.
