Manic Monday - March 7, 2016

Over the past four days I have been brought back to the true meaning of all that encompasses "The Road Trip". Driving with the CaravanFest to Seattle it brought back a wave of nostalgia surrounding the family vacation.

I'm sure most of us have been there... loading up the van with far more than intended, bringing along a cooler full of snacks that were most often consumed in the first hour, the dreaded but necessary "cone of silence" that envelopes the car after making a wrong turn (or even a few of them) and the pure and simple pleasure derived from driving new routes, pondering the lives of those in the towns you pass through and watching the landscape change ever slowly with each kilometre that rolls by.

So many of those vacations have been replaced in recent years with flights to exotic locations where winter could literally turn to summer within the time lapse of 4 hours. For many millennials the idea of packing into a what amounts to 119 cubic feet for a lengthy road trip is not only unheard of, but somewhat terrifying.

Times however are changing and with it a return to travel experiences that are closer to home. The Thompson Okanagan is a prime destination for those that seek the thrill of the open road whether by car, van, electric car or motorcycle. Our routes and corridors from 97 to 3, 33 to 5 and the mighty Trans Canada all offer incredible opportunities to create vacations in our region that will become the fabric of new family memories for years to come.

Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA President & CEO