My childhood summers were defined by the road trips that my family used to take. We would spend countless hours in the car driving to places like Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, Texas, and many places in between. I look back at these trips fondly, as they were a large part of my summer memories.

In the last year or so, I have taken four or five trips, but none of them have been with my family. Instead, I have spent time across the country with various friends. I’ve explored Oregon and trekked through Utah and adventured in Arizona. That’s one of the greatest things about college; your friend base expands across the country. With good friends and good times waiting all around The United States, what better opportunity is there to see new parts of the country?

This shift in travel happens as we grow older, and we begin to have the means and the money to make trips happen. Instead of our parents planning trips, we start planning adventures with our own friends. Most of the time, they are not as elaborate as the trips that my family used to take me on. Instead, they are shorter and more packed, considering we want to squeeze everything exciting into a short period of time.

This change is a bittersweet one. The freedom that comes with traveling among friends is like no other; plans aren’t always cemented and nothing is too crazy of an idea. But I also miss the days of traveling with my parents. They made the plans and took care of any problems that came our way. There was no responsibility when traveling with my family. Instead, my siblings and I got to sit back and enjoy the ride.

With my parents, our days would be planned out for us. There were beach days and tourist days and shopping days and driving days. But with friends, it is different. The day flows from the ideas of who is on the trip. In the blink of an eye, plans can change. And that is the beauty of these trips. For the first time in our lives, we get to explore a new place entirely the way we want to.

I hold family vacations near and dear to my heart. I hope my family still has a few more in us before our lives provide too many obstacles. One day, my vacations will consist almost exclusively of trips with my friends. And although it is a change that inevitably happens, I will always look back fondly on the trips my family took me on. I will think fondly of the disposable cameras we used, and the fast food we ate, and the gas stations we stopped at. I will laugh at memories of sunburns, tired bodies, and sleepy eyes, and all the happy accidents that occurred along the way. I’m not sure I am ready to say goodbye to family vacations, but when I do, at least there are always more adventures waiting down the road.