Eddy B: Forget Disneyland, nothing beats making memories on a family road trip

Sunrise co-host Edwina Bartholomew reveals why the simple things in life are often the best for her and her family.

We’ve just come back from our very first pack-all-your-earthly-possessions-in-the-boot-of-the-car family road trips.

The boot itself was a thing of beauty. All those years playing Tetris on my Game Boy culminated in the perfect placement of cot, nappies and dog bowls with just enough room left for the dog.

I did pause to think while wedging the potty under the Esky, that it might be easier to stay home but prepaid accommodation and sweating cheese in a snack box waits for no one.

We are at a sweet point in the parenting cycle where my eight-month-old son is more amused by a box of pegs than a luxury resort and my almost three-year-old knows about Mickey Mouse but is unaware of the existence of Disneyland.

She also believes the annoying iPad-like contraption that beeps and chimes at high volume only works in the car. What’s a little white lie between parents trying to get from A to Z in peace and quiet?

Family road trips are “relishing in the simple life”, according to Sunrise co-host Edwina Bartholomew

This holiday reminds me of the ones we used to take as kids.

The pre-dawn wake-up from Dad to beat the traffic, the long drives leaning on each others shoulders in the back and endless eye spy as we made our way from the tiny South Australian town of Whyalla all the way across the red desert to Sydney for Christmas.

We were lucky to have overseas adventures, too, but it’s the simple stuff that sticks in my mind.

The new-age parenting books would call this time “making memories”.

There are whole articles dedicated to the practice online.

“Science-backed ways to create lasting memories for your child,” preaches the Washington Post and umpteen mummy blogs are dedicated to the same subject.

Back in the 80s, our parents would have just called it “life”, and ain’t it grand.

Warm mangoes eaten in the nude in the sun, endless splashes in the pool, prawns straight from the ocean, Dad fixing broken goggles with a cable tie. I’m not sure our two will remember any of it, but we will.

Of course, there will come a time when we plan more elaborate getaways, when a trip a few hours down the highway won’t cut it, but for now we are relishing the simple life.

We return with our hearts and washing bags full. The boot is no longer precisely packed but crammed full of sandy buckets and half eaten sandwiches. Our first official family holiday is done with a summer full of memories still to come.

Originally published as Eddy B: Forget Disneyland, nothing beats making memories on a family road trip