Summit County Citizens Voice

The ultimate ‘Are we there yet?’ trip …

Dylan fishes Center Lake, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the theme song for our road trip was definitely the Beatles Rocky Racoon.

By Bob Berwyn

ENGLEWOOD — As any dad knows, the best gift of all — better than a tie, a card, a fishing pole or even a box of candy — is just spending time with your children, and this year, I’ve been especially blessed in that department, as I’m in the midst of a three-week road trip with son, my girlfriend and our two dogs. So far, we’ve covered 10 states and 3,500 miles, including a swing up through the Black Hills and Badlands, a journey along the Mississippi down the Great River Road and a meandering path along the Gulf Coast, from the Mississippi Delta all the way down to southwestern Florida.

It’s not like we haven’t traveled before, but most of our trips have been by plane to foreign lands, which is fun, but nothing like 10 to 12 hours a day in the car, which makes for some intense one-on-one time, even with other people and dogs as a buffer.

So far, so good … and we’re getting a real taste of the breadth of the country, along with sampling some mighty fine BBQ, some good southern fishing holes and a few awesome longboard runs.

At times, I’m sure my 13-year-old wishes he were somewhere else, like with his friends back in Summit County. But at other times, we’ve actually had some good and serious talks. And sometimes, we’re just plain goofy, whether it’s setting off fireworks or skateboarding through Vicksburg, Mississippi. Check out the following video and a few more shots from along the great American road.

And lucky for us, Leigh is about the best, most patient travel partner in the world, completely tolerant of all our male hijinks and always ready to share a joke and a laugh — not to mention driving duties. Roll on, Road Trip USA!

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Filed under: Travel | Tagged: Badlands, Black Hills, fathers day, fishing, Florida, Mississippi River, Road Trip, Travel | 2 Comments »