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In the universal language of hand gestures and grandfatherly warmth, an old Italian man told me, "Go over the big hill, go left, then right, then right again, then up another hill." This was over a decade ago in Italy when my older son was three. Three year olds make the worst back seat drivers. Lots of noise, no actual navigational skills. By some miracle, we made it to our little hotel in the hills outside of Florence thanks to that lovely old gentleman's patience and animated hand gestures. It was, perhaps, a double miracle because I had no idea how to put the manual shift of the tiny French rental car into reverse. The ability to reverse a vehicle is a highly overlooked luxury feature. It actually took someone who spoke English to explain it to me. The ability to easily put that rental car into reverse made the rest of our driving trip much less complicated. That was Italy and that was then. Fast forward thirteen years and it's a sixteen year old riding shotgun with a twelve year old in the backseat. Another solo trip in a foreign country. This time with two, much older kids. And, as time marches on, we have GPS. This time we're "grand touring" Ireland and Scotland on summer vacation. It turns out 16 year olds make excellent co-pilots and 12 year olds are pretty fabulous backseat drivers, too. Sorry, toddlers, you're no match for the big boys. Roundabouts on the "wrong" side of the road? My navigator told me, "Not this one, not this one, take this one." No problem! Tiny, two way roads without space for two cars going in opposite directions? "You got it, mom. Back up into this hedge here, hold your breath. We're good!" We rented cool cars, did gas station food picnics, and took random car ferries to wherever they went. We loved Valentia Island and the Kerry Cliffs. Maybe salmon on toast was a bad breakfast choice before the boat trip out to Skellig Michael, but the road trip went on. And, for the record, we're never eating salmon again. Like, never, ever again. Seriously, never again. We held our breath some more as we shared the road with big, tourist buses through Killarney National Park. While driving the Dingle Peninsula a local gave us the tip to go see a "hidden castle" with directions that went like, “After a harsh turn, pass the cliffs on the left, then pass the cliffs on the right, then turn left....then take a little road...it’s passable....” And we found it. And we were the only people there. And it was magic. In Scotland we used passing places as we roamed the Isle of Skye, then shared the road with vacationers exploring Glencoe along the A82 and other roads in the Highlands. This time we used the handy satellite navigation in our Mercedes E-Class rental. But really, it was my 16 year old I trusted most. He watched the speed dial and helped me stay on course. The rental company agent tried to convince me I should pay an extra 11 pounds each day "to be sure" I'd get sat-nav. Not all vehicles have it, you know. I told him it was a Mercedes E-class, so I was willing to risk it. Risk averse as I am, I took the gamble and lived on the wild side for five minutes or so until they pulled the vehicle from the garage. Surprise, surprise...it had GPS. But I knew I'd be okay either way, I had my homegrown sidekicks along for the ride. Trust your journey and trust your navigators. They'll get you there eventually. Even if you end up using a hair dryer to dry out sink-washed undies in a hotel room overlooking the canals of Venice, it'll make a good story one day. Indeed, it'll all work out and with some more miles those little backseat drivers become superb travel companions. They're great for a trip overseas, and also the very best of buddies for the journey of life.