Life lessons and childhood road trips.

By LAURA PERCY

Dear Long Road Ahead…how differently I look at you now.

There once was a time where a road trip was high on my list of the worst things in the world that my parents could possibly subject me to.

As far as my ten year old self was concerned, that annual drive from Sydney to the Gold Coast for a family holiday at Easter equaled 11 hours of solid boredom and way too much time in a confined space with my little brother.

Kids today have no idea about what went on before those TV screens in the backs of seats were invented.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Nissan Qashqai. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in her own words.

We had to rely on our imaginations. We played games of ‘Eye Spy’ or ‘Spot the Animal,’ where we would receive coins from Dad based on the rarity of the animals we could spot. Unfortunately for Dad, there was that time when the circus drove by and that elephant trunk cleaned his wallet right out.

But Long Road Ahead, after years of opting for flight as my transport choice, I found myself back on the highway doing the Sydney to Gold Coast drive this past Easter. Only this time, things looked completely different. Like the guy sitting next to me for a start. Not my brother, but in fact my lover. Together we’ve travelled all over the world, but a good old fashioned road trip was a complete first for us and perhaps, a great test that every relationship should have.

Whilst in these bowser breaking times several tanks of petrol can often add up to more than the price of flying interstate, as well as taking a helluva lot longer, it was as you would know, beside the point.

The idea of having no agenda, stopping off in small little towns that grabbed our interest and spending some quality time together actually sounded like a brilliant idea. On the contrary to my child self, I was actively choosing to do this!

So we set out on the highway, both with our own ideas of what constitutes a good playlist, plenty of car snacks and the GPS.

In the days when I had no idea what those road signs with the number of kilometers actually meant, I would rely on persistently asking mum and dad that pestering question that plays on little minds who know no better, ‘Are we there yet?’ But on this adult car trip I was fully aware that I would be sitting in the car for approximately 863km.

We stopped and swam in the ocean, grabbed coffees from little country bakeries and bought fresh strawberries at the fruit stalls along the side of the road.

Our route took us to Newcastle where we grabbed a feed at the pub, Nimbin where we had a bonfire on my uncle’s farm, Coffs Harbour where I had my picture taken with that famous big banana and eventually, the bright shining lights of the Gold Coast.

You see Long Road, in the end the purpose of the road trip wasn’t so much about the destination – we’ve both visited the Gold Coast before, but rather, the journey.

You’ll be pleased to know that we both agreed that on this particular occasion, the journey totally trumped the destination.

I now get it. You were trying to arm me with life lessons on those childhood car trips. Like patience, persistence and that those long roads in life that we all face can be conquered with a little faith and a whole lot of eye spy.

Thanks for the memories.

Sincerely,

Laura

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