Your vehicle is in tiptop shape thanks to a check-in with Cassels Garage. The bags are packed for a quick weekend getaway and everyone is looking forward to it. Nestled comfortably in the seats, your family is ready to go. Then, out come the cell phones. Does this scene sound familiar to you?
Driver: “Wow! That’s beautiful.”
Passenger: “I need to put my phone down. I am missing out.”
This happens to us on almost every road trip of any length including every time we drive on the causeway over the Intracoastal Waterway. Road trips through or from Brevard County, Florida offer lots of natural beauty to enjoy, but often we are too busy to notice.
This is a common theme in many families. What used to pass as family time now amounts to people who are related to each other entertaining themselves electronically while in the same vicinity. We are all glad that modern vehicles offer many distractions for small children on long trips, but it appears that families are losing the ability to connect on a personal level. Have you observed a family with teenagers enjoying a meal together at a restaurant? (Or maybe this is your family). Sometimes the kids and their parents will scarcely look up from their phones except to spear a bite of food.
Last year, the internet vilified a group of sorority girls at an Arizona Cardinals game who apparently saw the venue as nothing more than a convenient backdrop for their “selfie-fest.” That was funny, but in my family, it happens every day and we are all guilty of missing out on actual here and now joy because we are too engrossed in virtual entertainment.
So here’s a proposal: Next time you are on a road trip, why not try an experiment and put the phones away for a short spell. Do not try to bite off more than you can chew. Addictions do not let go easily. Start with a brief, mutual commitment to an electronic blackout, and wax nostalgic with antiquated road trip games like “I spy…” or just simple conversation.
This will all go better if your conversation is not about the funny sound your car is making, so it is a good idea to have it checked before any long trip. Cassels Garage in West Melbourne, Florida is a family-owned shop that is well equipped to provide routine maintenance or major repairs on your vehicles. The team at Cassels has been serving Brevard County since 1966.
