The Magic of the Journey: Road Trip Fun in The Chevy Traverse
Lara DiPaola
|
There is a special sort of alchemy that happens when you pack the family into a car and hit the open road. A road trip has a magic all it’s own, even if the magic of Disney happens to be your final destination.
Giant dinosaurs sporting sombreros. Freakishly large french fries. Fighter jets and friendly locals sharing insider info about their hometown. It isn’t often you’ll find any of this from that middle seat in coach. Frankly, you would need to worry if you did.
Ah, but on the open road these things become a the best part of the trip. Roadside attractions that become part of family folklore. Cars aren’t just transportation, they are part of the story.
The latest chapter in my family’s road-tripping began with me behind the wheel of the Chevy Traverse on a very long, very exciting test drive.
The Traverse’s cargo space was ample enough so that even when we were fully loaded we could see out the back windowEvery adventure starts with gear. With a family as big as mine, that means lots of gear. From suitcases to go-bags, Pillow Pets to a menagerie of chargers, cords and gadgets galore, when we leave home we go big. When Chevy provided us with the 2013 Traverse to “pilot” for this trip, I was a little skeptical as to whether we’d survive 15 hours–each way–on the road.
The Traverse not only handled the road it handled the load. There was room to spare with 116.3 cubic feet of cargo space. This eight passenger road warrior features second and third row fold-down seats. The third row has split-folding rear seats.
What does that mean?
It means that the three of my four kids who were along for this trip got their own seats. Not, once did I hear, “Maaaaaaa, she’s touching me!!!” Priceless. It also meant that the giant box of (seed) Bodycare products that joined our gear could fit in the car too. {youtube}8vl44g9J4N0{/youtube}
Total gear and people packed for this trip:
4 suitcases
3 go-bags
1 backpack
4 blankets
4 pillows
2 MacBooks
4 Kindles
1 bag of groceries
3 handbags (because you never know which one you’ll need, right?)
2 kids under 9
1 teen
2 brave parentsAll that and not a one of us felt cramped. Bonus, the entertainment system kept the kids glued to the screen watching The Regular Show, while dad and I argued about who got to pick the channel on the XM satellite radio. For the record 1st Wave is much better than Ozzy’s Boneyard. Having 12 cup holders in the Traverse also meant that there were no arguments about who’s juicebox went where. Bliss.
A stop at South of the Border (top) to ride the dinosaurs before heading to Disney World (below)We let Onstar be our guide. They found us the best BBQ joint in all of North Carolina, sent us to a great antique store, directed us to the fanciest gas station bathroom ever and even allowed us to salute heroes at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.
We averaged around 29 miles to the gallon, though I must mention that nearly all of our trip was highway driving using cruise control. That left a little room in the budget for ice cream at South Of The Border, a total throwback to roadside attractions of old. Wonderfully tacky and totally unforgettable.
Somewhere on that road we found the most amazing thing; time. Time to laugh, sing silly songs, talk and explore together. Magic at its very best.
“It is better to travel well than to arrive” ~Buddah
Disclosure: Chevrolet provided us with the Traverse for our road trip. The planning, packing and opinionating are entirely under our own steam.
