Over the years , we ’ ve checked items off and added items together . However , despite having adventurous trips of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro , hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu , cycling through the countryside of Tuscany and most recently , being charged by a bear ( a cub ) in Alaska , my favorite trips still seem to be the family road trips to Hilton Head Island when I was a kid . Every year for Spring Break and a week in the summer , my family made the 12-hour trek to South Carolina in a souped-up conversion van that my Dad affectionately called the “ Comfort Coach .” It had a television , a cooler and removable game table stand . Each trip , my parents , my brothers , my grandmother and I would cram ourselves with all the things we thought we needed for a week into the Comfort Coach , and it was not too cozy . Aside from our clothes , we were each allowed to only bring one bag of personal items , which I would painstakingly pack and repack in the days leading up to the trip . It was important that I had the right mix of cassette tapes for my Walkman and Sweet Valley High books to read on the trip .

More importantly , we always fought over who sat where . My parents were always in the front , my Dad in the driver ’ s seat with my Mom sitting shotgun and navigating . My grandmother would sit in the back and would sprawl across the entire row reading her books . The coveted spot was the “ sweet seat .” This was the seat behind the driver in the middle row , and it not only reclined , but had its own cup holder . The other middle row seat was by the door , which meant having to get up and out every time we stopped and it had no cup holder . Norman , being the oldest , always got the sweet seat . Justin , being the bunso

( Tagalog for baby ), always had to sit with Grandma which meant that I was stuck by the door .

The road trip was long , and there were no shortages of “ Are we there yet ?” to my parents . My parents were just as eager to get us out of that van when we arrived at our destination as we were to jump out . When we were kids , we couldn ’ t wait to get to where we were going . However , as an adult , I have just as many memories of the drive there as I do of the actual times spent at our destination . Even today , Justin still reminds me how Norman and I threw his favorite stuffed animal , Fuzzy , out of the van , though Norman had just hidden him under the seat . And I remember sitting on a cooler between my Dad and Mom so I felt like I was up front , which to me , was a much better seat than the sweet seat .

Now , when we embark on road trips with my 9-year-old son , my husband and I are quick to remind him of those family road trips , especially when he starts to complain that we should have flown to our destination instead . I remind him that many times , the journey there is so much more fun and memorable than the actual destination .

I wish I could go back and tell my 9-year-old self that message . What I would give now to have one last road trip with my older brother Norman sitting in the sweet seat . He passed away in 2017 . My Grandmother Casiana , who passed away in 1997 , would be sprawled in the back . My younger brother , Justin , who now lives in the suburbs of Washington , D . C ., would be tucked right in beside her , and my parents , who in their older age have earned the right to never have to shuttle us around in a van ever again , would be sitting up front leading us to our next adventure .

As we all embark on our own travels this season , my hope is that we enjoy the journey there just as much as the destination itself . Sometimes , when flights get delayed or weather detours us , it ’ s easy to get frustrated , but that ’ s just part of the journey , and years from now , that may be what you remember the most .

Safe travels ! * Mabuhay is a Filipino greeting meaning “ long life .”

Dr . Briones-Pryor is the Medical Director for the Hospital Medicine Service Line for UofL Health and is the Chief Medical Officer for UofL Health Shelbyville Hospital .

4 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE