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The best family vacation we ever took was the one we didn't stress out planning. Even our children agree it was the family vacation they'll never forget.

My husband and I took time off from work. We made arrangements for our pets. We packed our suitcase, hid it in the closet and then left for our last day of work before vacation. We never said a word about it to the kids.

That evening after work we called home and instructed the kids to pack a bag with enough clothes for a week."Be ready to leave when we get there," we told them, "Don't worry. This is a good thing."

Thirty minutes later we walked into the house and standing there were three children looking a lot less excited than my husband and I were feeling. "We're taking a family vacation!" my husband announced.

Their gloomy faces immediately turned to smiles and cheers of excitement.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you," my husband said, "On vacation. You ready to go?"

In as much time as it takes to change from work clothes to travel clothes, we were loaded into the family van and facing the end of our driveway.

My husband reached under his seat and pulled out a large road atlas. He flipped to the page that showed our current location and then handed the atlas to the back seat. "Ok guys. Which way?"

For this vacation, the kids would decide where we went.

It took them a few minutes to figure out the map, especially the youngest who was seven at the time, but soon they huddled together and started reading out names of towns. Before we made it out of the driveway a battle was brewing among them. My husband hushed me before I got involved. "They'll figure it out. Give'em a minute," he said.

Our first stop was Charlottesville, Virginia. While eating at a Ruby Tuesdays the children excitedly told our server that we were on vacation with no destination. They had also brought along the Atlas and were deciding where to stop next. It became their goal to hit as many states as possible in a week.

We managed to go through Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. Along this journey, we stayed at a Red Roof Inn, Holiday Inn and even in a cabin at a camp ground. Every where we went, we showed up unannounced and as was often the case, we were given really great rates.

We piled into small spaces. We walked through old country stores. We imagined what it would be like to live in different towns. Along the way we talked a lot, laughed a lot and took pictures of everything.

In our den is a picture of a longhorn bull being towed in an open trailer by an old pick-up truck. It was while we were in the mountains of West Virginia that we came upon this unusual sight. This bull's horns were so long that they stuck out into the adjacent lanes of traffic. We followed this truck for several miles and laughed until we cried as cars would try to pass the truck only to find that doing so was risking being gored by a bull. With each new person who unsuccessfully tried to pass the bull, the kids would laugh that much harder.

Our family vacation wasn't planned. It wasn't about the destination. It was about getting there together, building relationships and making memories along the way.

Learn more about this author, Tina Pollard.
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