and adventures also binds us as families and as a national culture. We can read about diversity, and try to teach our kids about it, but unless we go out and experience it, we’ll never truly understand different peoples and cultures. And, what a shame if we don’t get a chance to come back to our homes and share what we’ve seen and experienced with friends, neighbors and co-workers who have themselves, traveled other places.

3) It’s environmentally irresponsible to drive somewhere just for a vacation. It’s interesting that this issue is only coming up because the price of gas has increased – it’s not like the effect on the environment of burning fuel suddenly became a bad thing. But now that we are all suffering along with our planet, people are taking a righteous stand whenever someone “wastes” energy. It’s important to remember that on vacation, each spouse is not commuting to work daily in separate cars – let alone even more mileage used if the kids drive vehicles of their own. If gas prices worry you, consider going somewhere that has good public transportation. Or, if traveling by car, rent an energy efficient one, or bicycles for the entire family to use once you get to your destination. What about taking the train? The solution to the energy crisis shouldn’t be to do away with our mobility, it should be to develop the technology and the means to stay mobile, and use whatever best alternatives