Time to Unplug...

I've shared my dream of traveling Route 66 in our 1962 Dodge Dart 330 with many people. I get a variety of responses. They range from, "Awesome!" to, "Your going to travel in June and July?" The weird looks really start when I talk about what type of trip this is going to be for our family. When I shared the idea of traveling the Will Rogers Highway, I didn't want for this to be any old road trip. I wanted it to be epic. For me, that meant diving fully into the world of classic cars, two lane highways and everything that goes with it. Everything. So, on our trip, we will only be allowed access to whatever technology existed at the time our car was manufactured. The only exceptions being an emergency phone, digital still and video camera and a tablet that will allow us to update this blog and any social media we decide to share our trip through. As far as our time in the car and in our lodging, we will not listen to modern music, nor have access to "smart devices" to pass the time. For my children, this means playing many rounds of the "ABC" game, the license plate game, reading comic books, playing travel games and whatever else a kid did in 1962 to entertain themselves on road trips. We will enjoy music from the 50s and 60s and as a family, we will actually talk to each other - imagine that! This is something I'm really looking forward to sharing on our trip - the opportunity to unplug! I recently heard a story on the radio where a survey was conducted among people ages 18-35. The survey asked, "If you had to be isolated for three days, which of these things would you miss most? 1. Your family. 2. Your friends. 3. Your phone. Over half the individuals surveyed chose their phone. When I share with people about my dream of our family Route 66 trip, most come to terms with us taking a classic car. Many people can even deal with the fact that we are taking a car that doesn't have air conditioning. It's shocking to me how many people can't wrap their brains around us not letting our kids have tablets, phones or other "blue screens" in the car to keep them occupied. Personally, I can't wait. It will do us all good, myself included to have some time where we are not tethered to technology. Since the introduction of this idea, we have had random "test" days with our boys. We will travel somewhere and declare it a "Route 66 Test." Phones, tablets and other screened devices get turned off and the ABC game begins. So far...my children, mom and dad are still alive and kicking. We are ready to "get our kicks on Route 66." As for the choice of Route 66, that was actually a pretty simple choice. I have two boys...my oldest is 12 and my youngest is 9. My oldest son grew up with the movie, "Cars" which came out in 2006 when he was 2. Since he first saw it, he has been obsessed with Cars, especially American "muscle cars." I also believe that movie inspired parents like me to slow down and take less interstate...and on this trip, that's exactly what we are going to do.