Skip to main content

Roadgeeking with Kids - An Introduction

(First of an occasional series - highlighting in a sometimes humorous way of how having kids changes how you roadgeek)

From my experience, most roadgeeks (enthusiasts if you don't like the term) are male.  Most are single. Some are in a relationship and even married.  Many of those that are married are DINKs (Dual income no kids) and a handful of us have kids - some of us - like my family - have two.  Or even more!
Myself with our youngest Nash and our oldest Colton.
Along with my wife, Maggie, the four of us are a happy family that find ourselves in one adventure or another.  Currently, that is keeping a somewhat organized home! A three year old boy and a two month old will do that!

Obviously having kids takes up a lot of time and the days of last minute, "Hey, I'm gonna go out and do a photo trip and explore for a few hours," or something similar are long gone. As is the free time to work on webpages or even this blog.  In fact, I typed most of this blog on my phone while rocking Nash to sleep.  But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy your hobby or include the family in it.

Since Colton has been born, we have done a number of road trips near and far.  Gone are the days where Maggie and I would find places to hike or something between here and Pennsylvania or on the way to Texas.  These are replaced by hey there's a children's museum, aquarium, zoo, etc on the way, etc.  But as I was saying, we have done a few trips with Colt on the past three years and he's pretty much an excellent traveler and loves the adventure.  But it does change when you go from one kid to two, and we're just beginning to start those adventures.

So what will this series entail? Oh, fun things like:

* Thank goodness for cell phone cameras
* The hunt for good playgrounds - the family version of finding that elusive sign or bridge.
* Squeezing in roadgeeking on various trips and not frustrating your wife!
* Our family county maps
* Making the hobby a family activity
* When backroads to away football games are a cause to roadgeek!
* And other things


I'm looking forward to writing and sharing these stories with you all and feel free to comment and leave ideas and suggestions.

Comments

Josh Businger said…
I think it's cool that you're sharing your travel experiences with them. They will most likely grow up & do the same thing you're doing now. My grandparents took me on road trips as a kid & they passed their love for the road to me. Jess & I don't have (or are planning to have) kids so in that aspect we're kind of missing out in a way. But I think I turned her into a road geek, which is a very good thing!

Popular posts from this blog

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California.  The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857.  Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings.   The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed.   Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of

Old Sonoma Road

  Old Sonoma Road is an approximately five-mile highway located in the Mayacamas Mountains of western Napa County.  The roadway is part of the original stage road which connected Napa Valley west to Mission San Francisco Solano as part of El Camino Real.  Much of Old Sonoma Road was bypassed by the start of the twentieth century by way of Sonoma Highway.  A portion of Old Sonoma Road over the 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge (pictured as the blog cover) was adopted as part of Legislative Route Number 8 upon voter approval of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge served as a segment of California State Route 37 and California State Route 12 from 1934 through 1954.  Part 1; the history of Old Sonoma Road Old Sonoma Road has origins tied to the formation of Mission San Francisco Solano and the Spanish iteration of El Camino Real.  Mission San Francisco Solano was founded as the last and most northern Spanish Mission of Alta California on July 4, 1823.  The new M