Ways to Make a Family Road Trip Memorable



Dad writes about his "relation-trips" with his son

Creative Director, Jeff Siegel spent years creating dynamic presentations for Fortune 500 conmpanies, now he shares his enthusiasm for travelling with his son.  In his book, RelationTrips: A Simple, Powerful Way to Bond with Your Loved Ones Through Personalized Road Trips, he provides many hilarious stories of trips taken across the US as they visit every NBA arena and Major League Baseball park.

READ MORE: Local dad discusses parenting solo



As Hudson Valley parents go a travellin' this summer, we provide Siegel's top ten trips to creating memorable road trips:

1. Customize the trips as much as humanly possible - to  make them your own! 

2. Turn the "planning and development" phase of each trip into a multi-month experience.

3. Involve your child (or children) in as many facets of the planning as possible.

4. Look for creative opportunities for everyone to flex their "creative muscles" along the way.

5. Beyond the games, weave in cultural and non-theme related highlights to really broaden each experience (i.e., local attractions and visits with friends and family around the country.)

READ MORE: Tips for surviving a summer road trip


6. Be flexible. As well planned-out the trip may be, circumstances will present themselves "on the road" that were unforeseen. This actually is a hidden benefit of the "Road Trip" format. Look at these mishaps as opportunities to live "in the moment" and go with it.

7. As the parent, look for those one or two opportunities on each trip to incorporate and experience true "teachable moments" (these are completely up to you, and are defined by the different cultures and needs of every family.)

8. Document the trip in all of the ways available to you so that sights and sounds can survive well past the actual trips themselves.

9. Milk it for all it's worth! Each road trip is a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Taken as a whole, they comprise a "parent-child body of work" that serves as the foundation for a lifelong bond that few, if any, other experiences can approach.

10.  Have fun!

If you'd like to know more about Siegel's trips with his son, log onto MyRelationships.com.