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2 adults, 3 kids, 17 hours and 22 minutes in the car, 1,227 miles, 6 bathroom stops, way too many “are we there yets” and 1 felon in the backseat. Our first official family road trip came to an end but we made memories that will last a lifetime.
We started our 3-city road trip in Ocala, FL. I’ll be honest, there isn’t much to do in Ocala. Everyone that asked us where we were heading first, asked me the same question, “Why?” When a good part of your family lives there, it makes sense. We wound up having a little family reunion. 11 adults and 9 kids, most of which we had never met because they were under 5. It was a beautiful gathering filled with yummy food, laughs and me (“the kid paparazzi”), following all the kids around with my camera, trying to get some good shots of them. And while I wound up getting some great ones, I was so focused on the kids, I forgot to take any pictures of the adults (insert head slap here). It was the first time in YEARS that all the adults were in the same place and we have no proof that it ever happened. But I was there and I can tell you, it did happen and we loved it.
One of the many funny parts of our trip was the map app that my husband has on his phone. For some reason, each time we arrived at our destination, it would say “Don’t forget the felon in the backseat.” We believe that at some point he had programmed it with the name of our youngest, Falynn (which makes so much more sense, right?). Either way, it gave us a good laugh throughout the trip and we were often calling out for the “felon” in the backseat.
Day 3 had us on the road to Atlanta, GA. It was the first time we had all been to Atlanta (minus the layovers in the airport years ago). Staying Downtown meant we didn’t have to drive anywhere. We got plenty of exercise, walking around and taking in all of the scenery. We spent almost an entire day at the Georgia Aquarium (which was incredible). And even though it was cold (30’s cold), the girls were still able to get their swim on in the hotel’s indoor pool. Shout out to Hilton Garden Inn which was so accommodating and the perfect location for us! We were surrounded by restaurants, shops and even Centennial Park. In addition to the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca Cola and the College Football Hall of Fame were also within walking distance. The view from our room was breathtaking and really allowed us to appreciate the lights of downtown Atlanta.
Day 5, we headed to our final stop, St. Augustine, FL. Another first for our family (though I’m sure I was there as a child). It’s one of those towns that you don’t realize how great it is until you actually get there. I loved the history, the tours (especially the chocolate tour), the food (St. Augustine Seafood Co was a favorite for us) and the beauty of it all. It’s such great place for families. We were there for 3 full days and still didn’t get to see and do everything on our list. We already have plans to visit again in the Summer and will absolutely be staying in the same hotel, TRYP by Wyndham. It was literally the largest standard room we’ve ever stayed in and had enough space for all of us to sleep comfortably plus a mini kitchen. It was also very conveniently located just around the corner from Historic Downtown St. Augustine.
While this was, a fun filled 8 days, I was so happy to be home. Time to relax, get back into our daily routine and start planning our next family road trip.
Have you ever taken a family road trip? Comment below and let us know!

Claudia Krusch
April 17, 2019Sounds like you had a great road trip!I would love to visit Atlanta soon, it’s been a long time!
Amy Smith
April 16, 2019Ha. That’s a funny story. We stayed in downtown Atlanta one time, too. It is nice not having to drive around everywhere. Walking is nice!
Kiwi
April 15, 2019She is too cute to be anyones felon! So cool you came to Atlanta that is where I live I hope you all enjoyed the Aquarium!
Heather
April 15, 2019We LOVED Atlanta and are already planning another trip there.
Swathi
April 14, 2019We haven’t done a very long family road trip only 4-5 hours journey. Still we have lot of bathroom stops and are we there yet. Yes I agree with you family road trip is fun but with kids it requires more patience and energy.
Natalie
April 13, 2019Sounds like you had a great road trip! So nice that you got to reunite with family. I would love to visit Atlanta!
Beth
April 13, 2019We took our kids on a few road trips. It was always a lot of fun. It must have been quite a surprise the first time you heard “Don’t forget the felon in the backseat!”
Catalina
April 13, 2019The best part of any family vacation is making memories! I love this part!
Brianne Tursi Manz
April 13, 2019We love taking road trips as a family. There’s so much to see out there, and many games the kids can make up as we move along.
Theresa
April 13, 2019Family road trips are the best! I am glad you had a successful first time family road trip. Your little felon is the cutest one I’ve ever seen 🙂
Ruth I
April 13, 2019We took some road trips before but just short trips. All the photos are gorgeous. Sounds like you all had fun!
Rachel
April 13, 2019That will be a funny story for your family for years to come. I have never had my gps remind me take anyone out of the car though. Very fancy!
Terri Steffes
April 13, 2019Delightful memories to last a lifetime, and beyond! Those memories will live on through your kids. That’s a lot of miles!
artchee
April 13, 2019Wow, that’s a very long trip. I think 14 hours is my longest trip via riding or driving a car.
Monica Y
April 13, 2019I love road trips with the family, they can be so much fun. It looks like you guys had a great time.
Marina
April 13, 2019My family trips are completely different from yours because I don’t have kids but I travel with my two dogs 🙂
Melissa
April 12, 2019It looks like your first road trip was a huge success. I love that you spent lots of time with your family. Precious memories!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
April 12, 2019Love the “felon” in the back seat goof! Too funny! How great that you got to have a family reunion as part of your trip, too – wonderful!
Lisa Martin
April 12, 2019Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! My kids are so wonderful on long road trips. I was shocked how well the first went, so we’ve done several since then. It’s awesome when things work out.
Gisele
April 12, 2019It sounds like you all had a fabulous time. I think that was a great trip to take! Humans will never be replaced by machines. They don’t know how to pronounce most of our names! lol
The Sunny Side of Something
April 12, 2019That’s hilarious and a great way to break the tension that can totally go down during a long family ‘bonding’ trip. Sigh.
Sarah Bailey
April 12, 2019I have never done a road trip, we can make it most of the way across the country, if not all the way in one go. Though I guess we could around to random places quite quickly haha! It is an experience I would love to do one day though.
Supermompicks
April 12, 2019Our 3 year old just graduated to potty trained and I am not thrilled with the struggle of long distance travel anymore.
Tomi
April 12, 2019Gotta luv how technology glitches every now and then. I bet that made for a much needed giggle for the entire family after a long road trip.
Danyelle Whitley
April 12, 2019My kids love road trip’n! We often do a 5 hour trip to see family, they actually look forward to it!
Marta Rivera
April 12, 2019As a military family we have taken more road trips than I ever wanted to, but yours is hilarious! The best memories are made when we’ve traveled the open highways.
Snehal
April 12, 2019The last time I went to a family trip was to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. There are so much fun things to do. ?
Emmanuel Damian
April 12, 2019I love road trips especially with close friends and family. I really love that you can just sing along the tune in the car and enjoy the whole journey with friends.
Stacie
April 12, 2019We take road trips whenever we can. We love to be together as a family on the road, playing road games and generally having fun together.
Melissa Chapman
April 12, 2019I am going on along trip next week and I hope we find fun places to stop along the way. We go with kids and dogs so we have to stop every few hours.
candy
April 12, 2019The felon part had me worried and laughing afterwards, yep totally something my husband would do. Glad your car trip was enjoyable.
Alli Smith
April 12, 2019Road trips are so much fun and I always enjoy the lights of downtown Atlanta at night. I couldn’t stop laughing about the felon in the backseat.
Tara
June 28, 2018Oh my goodness, I was totally thinking you were going to say one of your nieces or nephews stole away in the car. That is way too funny that your son’s name came out as “Felon” in the backseat. It also made me think of all the safety things I’ve seen/read online to check your backseat for someone hiding back there – yikes. So glad it was a mispronunciation. What a great idea to have a reminder to check for your little one too!
AC
May 3, 2018Family road trips like this are essential!! Our family of 5 try to get at least 2 in a year!! Memories for a lifetime?
Debra Hawkins
April 29, 2018I laughed so hard about the felon in the back seat. It sounds like something my husband would do to his phone!
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh
April 29, 2018Oh that is hysterical! It sounds like your family had a great road trip. We are getting ready to take one ourselves!
Jeanine
April 29, 2018We are a family of train trips as we don’t drive. I have heard Georgia is quite beautiful and I would love to visit some time in the future. So nice that you had a great reunion with family members not met before.
Hannah Mitchell
April 29, 2018You are so brave for taking your whole family on a road trip! It can be so tough to take little ones out and can make everyone so tired. Looks like you had a great time, you’re a great mom!
Ricci
April 29, 2018I’ve tanned lots of road trips! I would rather take a road trip that fly any day. That way you can see a lot more of the country and make good memories!!
Kita Bryant
April 29, 2018So glad that you guys got to experience a little bit of Atlanta. I love this city!
Sara Welch
April 29, 2018I love seeing your family have so much fun on the road. The south is such a fun place to see things and be with family.
chubskulit rose
April 28, 2018We haven’t gone to a road trip this year yet. We did a lot last year.
Beautiful memories you guys are making.
Soma Mukherjee
April 28, 2018We love going on road trips and my sonny boy is always in the back seat relaxed can so relate with your post loved the way you have written about your trip.
cadina
April 28, 2018Lovely post, spending time with family is worth every second.
Alison Rost
April 27, 2018What a lovely road trip with the family! I miss doing that with the kids now that they’re all grown up and have their own little ones. They do the road trip and visit me instead. I think it’s nice that you had a reunion of sorts with your family as well. You definitely maximized your time!
Anita Mckaney
April 27, 2018I love a good family trip. They really bond folks together and you learn so much more about everyone.
Holly
April 27, 2018That is hilarious! Sounds like a super fun road trip. We love road trips!
wendy
April 27, 2018I think that’s so funny! When we go on vacations, we love to visit aquariums. This looks like it was a great family get-away for sure!
Masha
April 27, 2018It looks like you and your family had a marvelous trip! I laughed out loud at the part about the app and “don’t forget the felon in the backseat”! That was hilarious! I am sorry you don’t have photographs of the adults from your family reunion, but it sounds like you do have some lovely memories from that day. I enjoyed reading about the various places and activities on your trip and I am so glad you shared 🙂
Sarah Bailey
April 27, 2018There is nothing like getting away with friends or family. We don’t do road trips like you do in the state here (after all our country is less than the size of a state). But I do like getting out on the open road.
Amber Myers
April 27, 2018This sounds like such a fun time! Family road trips can always be exciting. We’re going on a mini one during the summer. I’d love to go to Atlanta one day.
Ramona Spires
April 27, 2018I love when we would go on family trips. I could be a bit of a challenge but I love the memories we have of those tips.
Usama
April 27, 2018I love road trips but i prefer to stop at different places along the way to have fun and that also helps me to recover from the pain from sitting for a long time ?
And I don’t have kids yet so I don’t have to worry about that as well ?
Nayna Kanabar
April 27, 2018It sounds like you had a great trip nad family reunions are always such good fun.
Evelyn
April 27, 2018Road trips are my favourite and with family makes it even more interesting.
azzama
April 27, 2018this sounds amazing but taking a road trip with kids can be difficult at the same time especially when they are potty training so I am not going anywhere anytime soon!
Dee
April 27, 2018Love the story! And I love a good road trip! Thanks for taking me on this one.
Karen Morse
April 27, 2018I love family road trips like this! They’re always so much fun and you make so many memories together. Glad you guys had a lot of fun!
Juli
April 27, 2018Your pictures of your family are so amazing and great recommendations.
Carol Cassara
April 27, 2018Sounds like a pretty productive trip if you ask me! I think it’s awesome that you got to meet with some family along the way. I’m glad you guys made some lasting memories! I found that Felon in the Backseat funny!!!
Erika
April 27, 2018That is hilarious but it could also be a opening to a bad horror movie. Love that ya’ll had fun and made the best of the road trip!
Melissa Chapman
April 27, 2018Road trips can be a lot of fun if you have places to stop along the way. We did a New York to Florida a few years back and it was a lot of driving but we did it together and have the memories.
Tomi C
April 27, 2018I am the Queen of Road Trips, self-proclaimed that is. I love a good road trip and traveling with kids has it challenges. I thought the “Stop Touching Me” was the worst until the kids got into the “He’s not touching me” you know when 1 kid waves their hands over another without touching them. OMG, talk about appreciation for the 3rd row. *smile* Glad your family had a great trip and thanks for bringing us along with those awesome travel posts.
Jeanette
April 27, 2018That would’ve totally cracked me up on his app! To have “Don’t forget the Felon in the backseat” I would be dying! It looks like you guys had a wonderful time. I have always wanted to go to the Georgia aquarium. It looks like a beautiful place to check out.
Alli Smith
April 27, 2018I love visiting Atlanta and St. Augustine! I lived in Atlanta when I was young and single and St. Augustine has always been a favorite vacation destination. Family road trips are so much fun and lots and lots of bathroom breaks.