Tales from the Road Part 3

The amount of traffic we experienced was certainly nothing like what is pictured here. It just felt  similar. 

A traffic jam. That is what we encountered next. In Georgia, there wasn't a speck of snow or a fleck of ice anywhere. The sky was clear and compared to what we had just left in New Mexico, it felt like a summer day. What Georgia did feature, however, was a long metallic string of traffic. Sitting in my seat, looking out the window, this thread of cars suddenly morphed into a giant snake that lay slumped on the asphalt. This lazy, glinting beast seemed to just bask in the sun with absolutely no regard to my family's impatience to reach our final destination.
How does one fight such a creature? My sister drew her phone and activated her Google app. She plotted our route and navigated our parents around the stalled vehicles. Kim is a true road warrior.
Our rental car was suitable for a long trip. It had three rows of seats. Four of those seats resembled heavily padded leather office chairs. Perhaps the kind in which captains sit in to command their crew. In fact, when my father first sat down in the driver's seat, he declared, "Captain's log, Star Date..." from Star Trek.
The last row was a typical back seat. It just seemed so very, very far away from the rest of car's inhabitants. It is also where I choose to sit with my youngest nephew and niece. We all did what we could to pass the time. My parents, generously and brilliantly, took turns driving. My sister, when not navigating, read a book from the glow of her iPad. Connor, her oldest son, was deep into his book, "The Shining." Mairen and Colin and I did numerous time-consuming activities.  The two kids played on whatever iPad was passed to them and I read my book and attempted, once again, to get them watch "Pacific Rim" with me.
The scenery from the car's windows became to fade into silhouettes before eventually completely dissolving into night. The back seat was starting to get uncomfortable no matter how I shifted my position. The three kids' heads were starting to bob in intermitted sleep. I gave up on movies and books, and just listened to music while I checked the clock to see how much time was left on this road trip.
Our final stop was at a gas station where we all galloped to the restroom and my sister got snacks for the kids. We drove off with the car filled with sound of mouths munching on potato chips and beef jerky. I didn't want to fall asleep so I just rested my chin in my hand and stared at the opaque blackness just outside the car window. For whatever reason, the rubber lining around one of the car's door was drooping and slipping out of place as if the car, too, was tiring and getting too weary and worn out to continue onward.
The kids fell asleep again and even I fell asleep and until moments before my dad came to a stop right outside the lobby of the hotel in Boca.
Everyone around me seemed heroic throughout this whole odyssey. My parents drove pretty much non-stop for 11 hours, my sister used her expert skills as a navigator and her children exercised excellent manners and behavior. There was no whining, no bickering, no goofing around.
It is a common saying that it is not important where you go; it is the journey to your destination that matters.
Our travels to get to Boca Raton by car and plane then car again certainly proves this saying true. I wanted to give up and just head home at the first sign of trouble but I am so glad that wasn't what happened. This trip showed me just how far perseverance, intuition, and a close-knit family can take a person. All of these strengths can fuel and empower you to reach wherever you want to be.