"Are we there yet?"

Sketchbook pieces from a 20 hour road trip in an 8 person van.

As we wound through the Rockies, I glanced out the window at the changing landscape. First gentle farmland, then the yellows and sage of the BC desert, followed by grey rock faces pressed up against the window and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Eventually we were spit out on the other side, the rolling plains just outside of Calgary morphing into the brown tiered cakes of Alberta badlands. We had traversed over 1000km and this was just Day 3.

Quick shots of the view

When my dad first proposed a family trip to/ around Canmore, we were debating whether to fly directly in to Calgary, or to make the trek by car. My parents loved the scenery, my brother-in-law didn’t mind driving, and my sister and I have nothing but pleasant nostalgia feelings from road trips in our past. It was decided— we were going to be coming around the mountain! 🤠

Some of my fondest memories as a kid are due to family road trips. The sticky heat of a van with temperamental air conditioning, a flat of water in the trunk, collecting rocks in film canisters at the Grand Canyon and reading books in the backseat. My dad would study and highlight the paper maps every night while my sister and I jumped into the pool, only surfacing for a quick motel dinner of coffee-pot instant noodles & tinned fish before our continental breakfast the next day.

When I told my partner about the trip, he asked “Why do we all have to be in one car!? Why don’t we drive separately?” to which I replied- then it wouldn’t be a classic road trip! There was something about one vehicle that felt like the ultimate metaphor for family— or at least family as I understand it. There is an extra level of consideration, of stepping outside of our own individual needs and working collectively. Was there compromise? You bet. Was it objectively more difficult to make plans? Yup. But was the experience better for it? Absolutely.

Playing a game with my littlest niece on her “tablet” where we would take turns adding to the drawing.

I got to develop a better relationship with my littlest niece— something that no amount of family dinners could do/ could only be facilitated by 6 hours of sitting beside each other, and I discovered just how poetic my dad can be. It was validating to see where my obsessive need for cleanliness comes from (I see you mom, bringing your own towels and slippers) and it was comforting to know that 10+ years of therapy really works! After all, when else can a first-gen Asian Canadian say you’ve shared a hotel room with your spouse AND your parents— and walked away with no fights 😅.

Photo taken by Rob

I’ve shared some pages from my sketchbook below as well as general thoughts/ comments per page— just for paid subscribers!