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My funniest moment was on a whole family holiday in Portugal - my SiL was driving and she went the wrong way round a roundabout! The locals were going bananas, shouting & gesturing like mad at us...

My best road trip was from San Francisco to Los Angeles. En route we visited Yosemite, the Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Palm Springs and finally drove up Highway 1 which hugs the coast from San Diego to LA. It was a fantastic trip with lots to see and do everyday.

The best ever was a trip through Texas with 4 adults and 2 kids. The guys in one car and the girls in the other. The one year old sleeping the four year old screaming that her film had just gone from the laptop and a frantic phone call to her dad, computer geek, asking how to reset it. Said he couldn't do anything as he couldn't see the problem. Did the usual reboot and it worked - wahey! My BF and I still wonder why it was assumed the girls had the kids. Great trip though.

There were six of us, in our early twenties. We set off from my home town on a clear June morning in 1975 at 06.00. We loaded our luggage into a converted blue Dormobile and all piled in for the trip. We were travelling from Cumbria to London on the first stage of our trip to Taize` in France for the Festival of Youth. In London we slept on the living room floor of the flat of a friend of a friend. We set off again for Ramsgate, breaking the journey in Canterbury, the Cathedral was closed! We crossed the channel by hovercraft, the sea was as calm as a mill pond. We drove down through France until we reached Paris. Two minor road accidents later, (they drive like mad men in Paris), we had set up camp in the grounds of a convent. Off we went to see the sights. Not having a map, we saw parts of Paris that regular tourists never see. It rained! The Nuns had very kindly rescued our belongings and let us stay in the guest wing of the Convent. We reached Taiz`e and had a fabulous time, the Brothers were wonderful. We met some very interesting young people from all over the world. The journey home again was uneventful until we reached the hoverport. My sister and I went for a meal, the others didn't. Crossing the channel there was a twelve foot swell! Have you ever travelled by hovercraft? It's very bouncy. My sister and I giggled as one by one all the passengers turned a delightful shade of green and ran for the side of the hovercraft. We stayed in the same flat in London overnight, you could see the back of The Oval cricket ground from the windows. It was a trip I'll never forget.

My best road trip ever was a thrilling drive from Rothbury to Elsdon through the Northumberland National Park on the B6341. The fast(ish) car, the steep ascent, the tortuous bends, the amazing scenery and, coming from an expanse of beautiful purple moorland, the sound of gunfire. Pure James Bond!
The shooting, I discovered, was from the Otterburn ranges. They’re used by the MOD for training.
I zoomed (sort of) along, the wind rushing through my hair, with the baddie (pretend) in hot pursuit.
An arthritic grandmother set off from Rothbury but a glamorous Bond Babe arrived in Elsdon. Pure magic.

Our best road trip was when we took our 3 children camping in different locations around the UK visiting lots of sites of interest and lots of nice campsites. Got lots of happy memories and lots of photographs! Would love to do that again in a heartbeat, the kids are too old now though and wouldn't be interested!

In 1972 my DH and I drove from England to Iran in a second hand Morris Traveller with DS in his high chair in the back!! We had lots of adventures but one of the most memorable was when we had a puncture half way up a mountain in the middle of nowhere and we had to unload the car to get to the spare tyre. Out came my upright vacuum cleaner, the said high chair, a gorgeous 'proper' pram, and an original McLaren buggy, various bundles, suitcases and boxes. Then the spare was flat! So DH left me on the side of a mountain in Turkey with our 18 month old child, surrounded by our worldly possessions while he rolled down the road to a garage we had passed earlier...much earlier! All was well until round the corner of the mountain came a flock of goats followed by a family of adults and children. They walked amongst all the articles looking at me and everything very carefully while I stood clutching my child with a silly grin on my face. Then they strolled off. I have often wondered what they thought this woman was doing amongst so much stuff with nothing and no-one in sight.
The thought of what might have happened fills me with horror but it was a different maybe safer age then.
We survived the trip and DS (now 44) has dined out many times on this and stories of other adventures on that journey.

For Christmas last year my family clubbed together and bought me a car. An amazing gift which took my breath away, as you can imagine. They bought it from a teacher in Newcastle upon Tyne. Lovely condition, safe and secure. One problem only, I live in Devon and was terrified of the idea of driving that far alone.

In steps my hero Son in Law. He drove me all the way, well as far as Bristol Airport, which is nearly all the way. We had such a laugh on the drive. I bought us Greggs breakfast sandwiches and we ate them totally free from the hand gel my daughter always instists we use. He loved that !

No it's not a Route 66 story but the drive cemented our already wonderful relationship. He is literally the son I never had and as his own mother died when he was small, I feel I bring something to his life...even if it is just Greggs Bacon Sandwiches !!

In 1980 when our children were just 9 and 10 we all went on a trip of a lifetime to South Africa. After a magical trip on the blue train from Cape Town to Pretoria we picked up a hire car. We travelled to the Kruger national park . We stayed in rest camps in little round huts with thatched roofs. We got up a 3am each morning so that we could get to see the animals who had been asleep on the roads. The children kept a diary of the places we visited, things we did and lists of animals we saw. At every twist and turn of the journey there was something new and exciting to see. Vast grassy plains dotted with architectural baobab trees and herds of running,leaping antelopes. Lazy lions snoozing in the shade,wide murky rivers full of wallowing hippos and the odd sneaky crocodile. Lumbering herds of elephants and zebras crossing the roads right infront of us. Tall giraffes nibbling at trees and many,many more. At the end of our journey we came to the spectacular great escarpment taking us down from the heights of the national park. In those days there were very few wildlife programmes on tv.
We will never forget our magical journey!

My best trip was driving from the north of scotland to London! It took a few days, but it was fun stopping and visiting different cities and enjoying the british countryside. I don't know if I would do it again though.

Antonia, before I replied to you I should have read through the thread. I think you need to start a new one as this one is about road trips. Hopefully you would then get some responses to your problem.

Oh, Antonia. Do you think she changed noticeably after her husband died? Was she OK with you before that? It does sound as though she may have some issues with you and it's not always possible to discuss these things without sounding needy or unreasonable. Can you think of an incidence that might have caused this cooling off towards you? It does seem sad but I note you say she was really awful to you and can you associate something specific with that? It's not always easy to turn things around again once they've gone that far. Just go on being her loving mum, and a loving granny, and maybe things will get back as they were, but only you can really know the history of the way things are at present, why they may be like this. Hopefully it's just a case of time. You don't say whether you get to meet up, as well as skyping, but it would be ideal if you could actually all get together more often. I do wish you well.

???

My daughter doesn't like me. For many years now, I feel that my daughter doesn't like me. Fourteen years ago, her first husband died, and I feel that she needed a scapegoat, and that was me. Following his death she was really awful to me, and even now that she has remarried and has a 2 year old daughter, she is still hostile toward me and it upsets me so much. For instance, we Skype every week and today her daughter sang a song and I joined in. The response was, ' oh, granny just ruined that for you.' There are constant snide remarks after everything I say. Perhaps I am too thin skinned! But she is not like that with my husband. Today he got an e card for Father's Day with ' to dad with lots of love from x ( x being her name). She sent me a Mother's Day card and the message was 'to mum, from x.' Any advice appreciated, because I love her so much and her behaviour really upsets me.

Definitely driving to the South of France

going to visit family who have moved to France. Two kids in a car for hours on end and yet we managed to do itin good humour.

Many years back, pre satnav days, we went to France (to Paris) on holiday. On our way home I studied the map and confidently told hubby which road out of Paris to take. After a while alarm bells started until they rang deafeningly! Suddenly we saw a signpost for the Palace at Versailles, totally the wrong direction! Turns out the map only showed the road going north but the darn French had turned it into a ring road around Paris and we were heading south! And we had no choice but to have a wee in this cornfield in the middle of nowhere!! Needless to say we missed the ferry but had such a laugh about it (later!)

My best road trips were firstly in 2007 when I took part as an all-female team in the Peking to Paris Rally, a classic endurance rally event, where I met my husband, and secondly, driving in the Peking to Paris Rally 2010 with my husband as my navigator.

My (now ex) husband emerged from the tent in his luminous pink, very tight, vest top with ‘J’Taime Lyons’ on it, over the rather loud shorts and the pink flip flops and declared himself ready for the long drive back to the UK with three small children in the back of the car.
As usual, none of us were allowed any input with the choice of music, so Barney the purple dinosaur was replaced with a very long, boring commentary of whatever sport was taking place at that time.
I was though, given the huge honour of being in charge of the map and, therefore, directions, initially making the rookie mistake of recommending that we avoid the Paris Orbital Motorway, which, just in time for end of the working day, meant we went straight there.
As we approached the exit, I gave him plenty of warning, not wanting to incur the wrath of the King of the Road and was incredulous when he drove straight by it.
“That’s not our exit,” he said calmly. “It’s the next one.”
I neither expected, nor did I get, an apology when he realised he was wrong and we had to drive completely around the Orbital again in rush hour traffic.
It was getting dark and the children were asleep when the smoke appeared from the bonnet, accompanied by the loud rattling noise. We had international road cover but, apparently, no change for the ‘phone box at the Toll Road we had stopped at to call them.
Which is how I found myself in the car, peering out of the windscreen at my husband who was knocking on the cabs of various trucks parked on the side of the Autoroute, dressed as he was, looking like he was asking the truck drivers for a night of passion for a fee in his limited French rather than change for the ‘phone.
It was completely dark when the tow truck got to us and I didn’t think it was very safe for me and the children to still be in the car as it was being carried on the back of the truck but was just grateful for the respite of the bad atmosphere as my husband sat in the cab of the mechanic.
Longest Journey Ever.

As someone who spends a lot of time travelling and in hire cars it's quite tricky to pick one road trip above the others, but I had so much fun on a road trip along the Pembrokeshire and West Wales coast a few years ago. It was February so not the best weather, but it did mean there were less people around and we were pretty much on our own.
The coast is simply incredible and some places are just breathtaking, we discovered some real gems that we have revisited since!
I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting something closer to home but still with that great sense of adventure.
We came around the corner of a normal country road to find ourselves right next to the sea with the most amazing cliffs up ahead of us... the car didn't like the steep incline but the view was incredible!

My DH and I rented a car and drove around the south island of New Zeaand for 3 weeks - we stopped at lake tekapo, queenstown, kaikoura, saw how the 2011 earthquake devastated christchurch and many more amazing places. The roads are simply stunning as you drive through the valleys and over massive hills with nothing but green around you. It was the best holiday we've been on, truly amazing.

We were driving through paradise - er, I mean the Isle of Mull, and found ourselves behind a coach - not a common occurrence I have to say - when suddenly an otter appeared from a ditch with a huge salmon in its teeth! It ran across the road right under the wheels of the coach it dropped the fish and ran into the opposite ditch. The coach drove on quite oblivious to the drama that had transpired but we stopped (nothing else on the road, I assure you!) so I picked up the fish with the head gnawed away and threw it in the direction of the otter. I had never seen an otter before and the event reaffirmed my idea of what idyllic landscapes are!

a few years ago we drove down to the south of France with MIL and two young children. husband gave MIL a choice of the long winded coastal route or the direct straight line route She said that the scenic route would be much better, and then when straight to sleep for several hours

I've been driving for around 40 years, but I don't have a real favourite road trip. I've driven lots of places down South from Cornwall to Great Yarmouth, but have never driven anywhere North of Blackpool.

My most memorable road trip was across central London in the 1970s. My boss had given me return tickets from Edinburgh to London as a gift to go Christmas shopping and I invited my mum to spend some of the time with me. But I managed to mix up which bus station I was meeting her at and I ended up at the wrong one at 6am. - just minutes before she was due to arrive. I dashed out into the street and must have looked in a right panic, because a dustman (as we called them in those days) asked what was wrong. No problem, he said when I explained. We're heading that way so jump up in the cab and we'll give you a lift.
I arrived a few minutes late, but it was worth it to see the look on my mum's face as she watched a bin lorry pull up in front of her and her daughter climb out!