"Uh, closed? They don't close Florida."

Clark Griswold said it best when he went berserk on the way to Wally World.

"This is no longer a vacation.  This is a quest.  A quest for fun."

So today, following the commencement of my little brother, Voyles family road trip 2011 has began.  (Go Ryan!)  With the Nissan Altima as our noble steed, I feel in slightly better company than the Griswolds.  Thankfully, I don't see Grandma pulling at Aunt Edna and kicking the bucket en route.  What I can expect is priceless one-liners muttered in the front seat, including the most recent gem, "my feet are hot."

Family road trips are so Americana I can't believe Toby Keith hasn't written an anthem about them.  They stir up good memories, like when the family rented a RV stocked with Grandpa's Miller Lite, and the downright awful, like driving through Atlanta's 1996 Olympics opening ceremonies.  Ever since that debacle, we have flown the friendly skies.

Today, my luck has run out.

Now I'm somewhere in Kentucky, listening to my mom sing "Venus" by Bahamarama writing by the light of cell phone.  But I'm keeping my head in the game because:

1.) My positioning the reject car allows me to tweet enough to humor Ryan...and whoever else sees my pain
2.) We're coming up on Nashville, one of my favorite cities, and worth staying awake another hour
3.) Tomorrow I will be on a beach.  I won't be building oily sandcastles or cleaning duckies, like last year's agenda, but can enjoy the vacation that environmental protection allows.  Last August I was a little skeptical; this year I'm really excited.  Am I getting older?

#VoylesVacation