“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force.” – Yoda, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
We did something tonight that we always do after returning home from a trip, we marked the map with our route using dry erase markers. We keep our US map on the wall next to the kitchen table so we see it often. After marking up this trip, we decided to touch up the routes of previous trips as many of them had gotten smudged (and even almost rubbed off completely) over the years. The updated map can be seen here.
PL marks up the map with our travel route.
Padawan Learner drew out the line as Dad Windu and I recalled the route we had taken. It’s always interesting to look back on our trips with this new piece of information. Somehow it’s easier to put a long road trip in perspective when it’s laid out before you on a map. Not including any of the bits and pieces of extraneous driving that we did for side trips, we learned from Google Maps that we drove 4244 miles point to point, over the course of 18 days. Per PL, that’s an average of roughly 236 miles a day. (I’m not one to miss a chance to throw in some math practice when I can.)
Another friend has a large table in her dining room, so her family keeps full-size USA and world maps right on the table with a large, clear plastic tablecloth over them. Because of this, their meals often have geography content. If one of her sons hears a tidbit about Latvia on NPR, for example, the entire family can find it on the map and understand why Latvians get ansy when politicians in Moscow start reminiscing about a return to “the good old days” of the USSR.
Does your family do anything special with maps?
I wish I had a wall large enough to put a map onto it and see it on a daily basis.
So sorry we were traveling away from Texas whilst you were traveling into Texas!
OMK: I wish we’d been able to connect, but no biggie. The guys and I were just playing it a little too fast and loose to meet up with your and your family this time.
I love both ideas! When we used the attic for our school room, it was COVERED with maps. We did all kinds of things with them, from the traditional to the “out there.” We spent a whole year on geography, recently, so we’re a little map-weary at the moment, but my husband can sit down with an atlas for an hour. It’s just weird!
The red lines on the map:
You drove through the current town I live in which is the middle of nowhere, the town we moved here from and where Thomas was born, the town I was born in, and the town I lived in from grade 2-6.
Wonderful travels! I like your map.
OMK: Wow! It was like a little mini-tour of your life, wasn’t it?
Oh, I LOVE seeing your map. How much fun. And as proof that great minded families think alike, we too have a wall in our house which only holds maps: a Texas map, a US map and a World map. We LOVE maps. We’ve only taken one long road trip (and too many short ones) that’s plotted on our map, but we’ve got another one in our back pocket and we’re just waiting for the day when we can afford to got!
Well, we have maps and atlases falling out of the car pockets. But, no, I’m afraid to look closely at the map while traveling, or after. I’m pretty sure we drove in circles on the last road trip. We must have gone back and forth between Idaho and Salt Lake City at least three times, just cause it made sense at the time. My excuse is that I like to take the “scenic route!” Others might argue, and have, frequently, that I’m navigationally challenged. Upon consideration, it might be a good idea to paper my house with maps…