Flight vs. Road Trip

I can't tell you how many people reacted with surprise and/or disbelief when I told them we drove all the way from Pennsylvania to Idaho this summer.  With five kids.  Including a 4-week-old baby.  I think everyone pretty much assumes that it is a financial thing; we can't afford to buy 6 plane tickets, so we decided to sacrifice and drive instead.  If you happen to be one of those people, please allow me to enlighten you on the many advantages of road trips over flights.

First and foremost, let's examine the issue of cost as it is believed by many to be the most important issue.  This summer, plane tickets from Pittsburgh, PA to Boise, ID were going for atleast $650.  ($650 x 6 =  $3900)  That, of course, is not the only cost of traveling by plane, however.  Once you arrive at your destination with a family of 7, you also need a full sized SUV or a minivan to transport everyone.  Renting such a large car for 2 weeks will run you somewhere in the vicinity of $1000.00.  And, of course, you have the great inconvenience of not being able to bring all of the things you may need.  Just try to imagine carrying anything on with 5 kids in tow.  And the price of checking your luggage would be hefty with all of those suitcases!  When we figured everything out, we estimated that our trip was about 1/2 as expensive because we drove.  That alone would be motivation enough, but that's not the only reason we prefer to drive.

One of my favorite reasons to drive instead of fly is that my kids have 3 days (each way!) of uninterrupted time with their Dad.  He's not with them as much as I am, and it is such a bonding experience for them to all be together in such a confined space.  There are no distractions, no tv or video games.  No neighborhood friends or work.  It's undiluted family time at its best.

Another reason I love road tripping with my kids is the opportunity it provides for them to experience the many different geographical landscapes of our country.  From the rolling green hills of Pennsylvania and Ohio, to the flat farmlands of the midwest to the red rocks of Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains in Utah, my kids have seen it all first hand.  I love that they have some understanding of how far it is to travel from one place to another and how it all goes together. 

Watching out the windows of our car, our kids have seen some of the most amazing weather patterns.  They have seen rain storms form far in the distance only to drive right through them an hour later.  We have seen the tiny twisters called dust devils form on the dry soil in Utah and Idaho.  Rainbows are far more exciting from the vantage point of the open road, as are sunrises and sunsets.  Also interesting to watch for are the many different types of wildlife in each region.  From antelope to hawks, we have seen our share.  There is so much to see and experience from inside a car!

Road trips also provide ample time to accomplish many things.  As we are beginning our year of homeschool, we took the opportunity to knock out a couple of days of school while "trapped" inside the car.  It's so nice to have a captive audience with nothing better to do than read and study.  We used this opportunity to study geography, to calculate gas mileage and total trip costs for math, and many other trip-appropriate subjects.  We also managed to listen to four complete classic childrens books on cd, parts of two others, 3 sessions of general conference and an educational song cd.  We memorized a couple of scriptures and had a lot of good talks. 

And one more thing:  Road trips teach the crucial life lessons of patience and endurance.  And I don't just mean for the parents!  What requires more patience than sitting (relatively) quietly for 35 hours over the space of 3 days?  It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to practice these important qualities.  They are SO appreciative of their freedom to run around and sleep in their own beds, etc when we finally get home.
The truth is, Matt and I wracked our brains for a long time trying to think of the advantages of flying over driving and we could only come up with one thing:  It is faster.  It's not more comfortable, not cheaper, not better for the kids.  It's not simpler and certainly not more educational.  Flying is faster.  That's all.

But, when you imagine yourself trapped in a tiny seat in a tiny row of a confined airplane with a crowd of strangers AND your 5 small children including a 4-week-old baby, well, that's about as close to hell as I can imagine.  And that's why we drive instead of fly.