Butterflies and the Open Road

Just returned from vacation in North Carolina with my husband and daughter. We decided to ditch the long airport lines and delays in favor of a good, old-fashioned road trip.

I lived in Oklahoma as a kid, and some of my fondest memories are the cross country drives we took up East to visit family in my mom's light blue VW bug (we called her Betsy). There were no portable DVD players back then, so my brother and I would amuse ourselves on these long treks by sticking our arms out the window & signaling to the truckers to honk their air horns, singing to songs on the radio, playing the license plate game, making each other laugh or just looking out the window and daydreaming.

Before our trip to NC, I armed myself with a giant bag of distractions for my daughter, hoping the 12 1/2 hour drive wouldn't be too much for her. I can't lie - I was a little nervous.

To my great relief and surprise, the resulting drive was an absolute pleasure. We did crafts, made up our own silly lyrics to the songs on the radio, wrote in our journals, told corny jokes, had car picnics and spent quality time together - reconnecting as a family without the distractions of school, work and everyday tasks.

I loved every minute of it.

Here are some pics and a little video from the trip. Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Fresh Donuts and Face Painting at the Farmer's Market

 Playing lead singer of a rock band

 Butterfly Exhibit

The video below was also taken at the butterfly exhibit after a butterfly landed on my daughter's hand. 
It just cracks me up because its Season's personality in a nutshell ....