Detour

My family tried to take some type of vacation each year. One year when I was in middle school my dad decided he wanted to go to Cedar Point again. My brother and I were so excited. We loved roller coasters and rides so this was going to be a great trip. Plus I hadn’t been since I was four. We only lived three hours from Cedar Point so we drove there.

The trip was great and my brother and I had a blast on the roller coasters. When we finished with Cedar Point we moved on to Sea World. I was so excited to be going to Sea World.

At the very end of our trip my parents decided to do a day at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before coming home. We were to stay in Cleveland over night and the next morning we were headed to the Hall of Fame. Now, road trips with my dad were not fun. He complained in every state we drove in that either they don't know how to use traffic signs or the people in that state do not know how to drive.

We were driving on the thruway cutting through downtown Cleveland when my dad missed the exit. We were at the end of the trip and my dad had enough with the driving. My brother and I sat in the back seat and just looked at each other. My dad was yelling at my mom, my mom was yelling back at him. And then that was it. My dad kept driving. I kept looking at the exits as they came up, he has to turn around right? Nope. My dad drove the three hours back home.

My grandparents had a permanent campsite about an hour from where we lived, it was just past midnight and we were all exhausted. We weren't supposed to be in the car that long. My parents decided while my brother and I slept to stop at the campsite and we will stay there over night. I woke up while we were pulling into the campground. My heart raced I was so excited. We weren't going home and we were at the next best place. We quietly got out of the car when my parents noticed a truck next to the camper. It was my grandfather’s truck.

My parent's discussed what they were going to do while my mom dug for the camper’s key in her purse. With no luck in finding it, my father loaded us back into the car and we continued the hour drive home. At the time my heart was broken. I wanted to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I wanted to stay at the camp ground.

I have been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few times now, and I have been to the camp site more times than I can count. I didn't miss out on anything like I thought I had back then. Instead I have a story that we tell over and over again. The time my father missed the exit so he drove three hours home.

I wrote this piece for Red Writing Hood. The prompt was to write about a time you took a detour and the adventure and fun you had because of it.