It might sound strange to say with a such wonderful big old world out there but some of the best times I’ve shared with my Dad have been in the car together. From the trips to the swimming baths when I was a wee ankle biter and the time he let me and my brother stick our heads out of the sunroof when Liverpool FC won the 2005 Champions League and my wobbly tooth blew out… Right through to the journeys to and from university when I’d spend most of the time asleep but still find total sanctuary in the familiar boring buzz of Five Live radio and my Old Man just being next to me.
So when The Car People got in touch to tell me all about their Thanks Dad campaign, it got me thinking about my favourite car journey spent with my Pops at the wheel. After much nostalgic deliberation and having a good root through my mental memory box, I’d have to say that one of my ultimate favourites also has to be one of our latest – the journey to my brother’s graduation ceremony at the MetLife Stadium on our recent visit to New Jersey and NYC.
It was such a special occasion for so many reasons. With my brother being an adopted American boy of 4 years now, spending time as a family is pretty scarce, so being able to do this… in America… at a world famous venue… to celebrate such a huge achievement for my (not so little) lil bro was pretty unforgettable to say the least.
We spent the second half of our week in the States in the big bright lights of New York City where driving is like a game of Russian Roulette (no thanks) but for the first leg of the trip in the lovely suburbs of New Jersey we had booked ourselves some wheels. Some serious wheels at that…
We hired ourselves a GMC Yukon SUV to get us from A to B to C to D for five days and it certainly looked the business on Graduation Day. The day before, we went and picked out some graduation bunting at Walmart to fly out the window and of course, they’re now filed away in my Dad’s Aladdin’s Cave of sentimental keepsakes.
The heated seats, booming sound system and NYC skyline views out of the tinted windows were definitely bloody awesome but the best part about that journey had to be seeing my Dad beaming with pride the whole way. His hands might have been slipping off the sweaty steering wheel trying to navigate spaghetti junctions on the lefthand side of this great whacking vehicle but it didn’t stop him grinning the entire time.
While you’re here, catch up on some of the best things to do for Father’s Day in Liverpool and when me and my old man went to the Weber® Grill Academy for a BBQ cookery class.
This post was written in collaboration with The Car People. I was not paid and all opinions are my own.
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