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Recently, my grandkids and their family were gone for a few days. My senior mom and I decided to use that time for a couple of short road trips in the car. We don't do it often, but when we do, it's always a fun treat.
I used Google, Google maps online, and a couple of GPS-style apps – GPS Drive and Mapquest – to help me plan the trip. It's not that easy to find a scenic road trip in the area, I found. But when I turned to my daughter's resources, I found she had one of those "Fun trips in YOUR STATE with your children" books and that helped a lot. I discovered we were only half an hour away from a lovely lake, forest, mountains, and river. In the process of getting there, we enjoyed lovely trees, houses, and winding roads (not to mention a ton of speeding drivers behind me – I think I must have pulled over at least three times to let them all pass – and I was going the speed limit + a couple miles! oyyyyy!).
I was a bit disappointed we didn't see more greenery, then realized that same lovely spring flowers and leaves would have caused us to miss the sights we enjoyed past the still bare trees.
We had hoped to discover a local restaurant that would be fun and interesting to eat at but after two hours, and with hungry tummies, we we thrilled to find a very nice Dairy Queen. After a yummy burger and chicken wrap with ice cream chasers, we were on our way back home. That was a bit trickier as I'd gotten a bit off our original route map. But thanks to the Mapquest app (complete with a talking voice, albeit a bit erratic when she talked and when she didn't), we discovered a grand route that took us the back way into our neighborhood.
We had a lovely time sight-seeing, talking, and learning more about our area – up close and a bit further away. And it was relatively easy on my senior mom as we did all but lunch in the car. When we got home, she commented on what a lovely day it had been. Then made a bee-line for her favorite recliner and a much-needed nap! What do you and your senior parents do when your grandkids are gone for a few days? 🙂
P.S. After I got back I had a bit of a brainstorm. I typed my state name into the iPhone app search box and came up with 500+ apps – the first 20-30 included some very interesting travel ideas apps – many for free. When I tried it again with the word travel after the state name, there were fewer choices – including a couple I had picked. But I do like the bigger search as well. How about you? Got any scenic drive finders to share with us? 🙂
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My parents are elderly and I have young children. A bit of a different sandwich. When we do a homeschool field trip, I invite them to join-in. My mother especially enjoys traveling with us and experiencing our nature adventures. We enjoy having her with us for the day. 🙂
What fun, Jeannine! For you, for her, and for your children! Memories to treasure for a lifetime 🙂
This is a joy to read, Kaye! I remember it exactly like this when I’d travel wth my Mom! Her favorite was to stop at Steak and Shake! LOL And we’d take back roads on purpose to avoid those annoying tailgaters etc1 It really is about these simple little things we do with the seniors (or with the little ones) that mean the most! Thank you for this lovely reminder!
Joan/Gramcracker
Thanks Joan. And how interesting! We have a Steak and Shake here and have never tried it. I’ll have to tell my mom and see if she wants to give it a shot. Do they have chicken or vege plates tho? She eats only those as it seemed to help her arthritis a bit. Thanks for a lovely visit.