Most people have fond childhood memories of road trips taken with their families. I have none. We didn't have a car growing up so taking a family road trip was near impossible, especially with our large family (I'm one of five siblings). My husband has spent many years trying to convince me that a family road trip would be a whole lot of fun. I couldn't see it. I couldn't see how being confined to a vehicle with three kids for two days could ever be considered "a whole lot of fun". But... He did it. He finally talked me into it and with some hesitation, I set off on my very first road trip down south last year. And you know what... I. LOVED. IT. Every last bit of it. From the excitement of watching the kilometers disappear behind us to the first palm tree sighting to the greasy pancake house to resting our heads in that cigar smelling motel in the sketchy part of town. I . loved. it. all. Had I known that I would fall in love with everything that signifies "road trip", I would never have put it off for this long. Don't let it happen to you. Take it from me - don't put off that road trip any longer. Before you head out on the road, make sure you have an active CAA membership. We placed an order for TripTik (a customized detailed map). It's a free service for CAA members. CAA also offers hotel discounts. Invest in or borrow a GPS. Coupled with Triptik, it provided added security to ensure we were on the right track. Don't forget about entertainment for the kids. We borrowed a friend's portable DVD player, packed a few books, magazines and electronic games. That being said, we still heard that ever famous phrase "Are we there yet" at least a zillion trillion times! Co-ordinate re-fuelling, belly-filling and washroom breaks so you're not stopping any more that every 4-6 hours. Unfortunately, as much as we tried, this didn't always go as planned. Sigh. Are you a road trip newbie or are you one of the lucky ones that's been riding in the back of mom and dad's station wagon since the beginning of time? I'd love to hear all about it. Share your fondest road trip memory and you could be the lucky winner of a Canadian Living cookbook.