First Family Road Trip

Our First Family Road Trip: Chaos, Giggles, and Memories for Life

By Kaitlyn Fraser
A heartfelt tale of messy car snacks, sibling spats, and unexpected joy.

The Road Begins (with Crumbs and Crankiness)

We hadn’t even left our driveway when the first argument started. My younger brother wanted the front seat. My older sister insisted on DJ rights. My mom was already digging through the glove compartment for wet wipes, and my dad was recalibrating the GPS like a man on a mission.

“This is going to be fun,” I whispered to myself. Not sarcastically—just nervously.

It was our first real family road trip. Not the kind where you drive a few hours to Grandma’s. This was a week-long, map-sprawled, motel-hopping, snacks-in-a-cooler kind of adventure. We were headed from Ontario to Prince Edward Island. Nearly 1,800 kilometers. Five people. One minivan. Zero patience.

The Snack Situation (and Other Survival Essentials)

We had enough snacks to last the apocalypse. Granola bars, cheese strings, carrot sticks, crackers, peanut butter sandwiches cut into dinosaur shapes (thanks Mom). But by the second day, all anyone wanted was gas station chips and slushies.

Every 15 minutes someone had to pee. Every 30 minutes someone was carsick. And yet, in between the chaos, were these weird bursts of laughter—usually when someone made up a ridiculous song about roadkill or tried to guess what the cows we passed were thinking.

The Magic of Random Stops

We didn’t stick to our itinerary. At all. That turned out to be the best thing. Somewhere near New Brunswick, we pulled over for what was supposed to be a quick bathroom break and ended up finding a tiny lake with a rope swing. We stayed for three hours.

Another time, we followed a handmade sign that said “World’s Biggest Potato” and found ourselves in front of an enormous fiberglass spud. It was hilarious. And perfect.

When We Finally Got Along

Something shifted around day four. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the cumulative effect of shared playlists and shared snacks and shared silence. But we started getting along.

My sister braided my hair without being asked. My brother gave me the last cookie. My parents laughed at inside jokes instead of arguing over directions. It was like the minivan had become a moving bubble of weird, chaotic, beautiful family bonding.

Prince Edward Island: Worth the Miles and Mayhem

When we finally crossed the bridge into PEI, it was sunset. The red cliffs glowed, the ocean shimmered, and someone in the car said, “Wow” without irony.

We stayed in a tiny cottage by the beach. No Wi-Fi, but plenty of seashells. We played board games. We cooked pancakes. We got sunburned and took blurry photos and made up stories about the lighthouse near the shore.

It wasn’t a perfect vacation. But it was ours. And it was unforgettable.

The Real Destination Was Each Other

Looking back, the best part wasn’t the destination—it was the in-between moments. The half-sung songs, the wrong turns that turned into adventures, the shared bags of chips, the car naps, the laughter that bubbled up unexpectedly.

If you’re planning a family trip, don’t worry about the perfect route or perfect mood. Expect the mess. Embrace the ridiculous. Pack extra wipes. And trust that even when it feels chaotic, you’re stitching together something magical.

Because years later, no one will remember the GPS malfunctions or the spilled juice. They’ll remember the way it felt to be on the road, together.

Have you taken a road trip with your family that turned out better (or messier) than expected? Share your story with @AffordableJourney using #MinivanMemories.