Some things never change....

Things you can count on when taking a road trip with the Etheridge Family:

1. Minimum bathroom breaks.

2. Stop at a hotel? Heck no!! We drive straight to our destination, or we sleep curled up in our car.

3. Grandma can always be counted on for random conversation, and often times talking to herself. You might even be woken up at 3am to the sound of hymns. She reads almost every sign that passes by, and will always ask "where are we now" every half hour.

4. Mom is a side seat driver who pushes her imaginary break pedal hard enough to touch the pavement. She flinches at every truck, care, or motorcycle that passes in front, behind, or beside us. NEVER sleeps no matter what time it is or whose driving.

5. Dad is a machine when is comes to driving. He can drive straight through the night, even if he's tired as a dog. Every now and then he'll drift onto the shoulder and wake himself up with that annoying sound the ridges on the road make. Earth Wind and Fire, and Stevie wonder keep him company for hours while he hits outrageous high notes, imitates the band, and whistles the tunes. My dad's snack of choice is anything salty, sweet, crunchy, cheesy, or artificially flavored to any degree. But always needs water to drink.

6. Some how fried chicken always sneaks its way into our car....weird.

7. Mom can't drive in the middle of the night without something hot to drink, and a snack. Only on long trips do I think my mom is addicted to coffee. She can only go the long haul if she snacks her way from state to state.

8. I fall asleep before we hit the highway.

9. My dad argues with my mom because she keeps side seat driving. My mom fusses with my grandmother because she won't stop talking. Grandma gets mad because dad has his music too loud. I beg my mother to go to sleep and take a nap. Dad says we pee too much. And we usually have to tell Grandma we're still in Virginia about 3 times. And the chicken never lasts very long.

Gotta love it. I know I do.