A Road-Tripping Adventure

These lucky boys have a mom who’s game for anything!

- Tracy Wells

It all started back in 2012. My older son Cody and his friends had discovered the world of online gaming. Like every other parent, I was apprehensive about letting him join the cyberworld. I sat him down and went over all the safety issues, such as not divulging his real name, address and so on; and told him not to threaten or bully anyone— everything I could think of that I should be addressing.

He seemed to have a small group of friends from school who all played together and it was going well, no major problems other than that he was extremely loud at times.

Along the way, the group grew a little as the boys met other players in the online world, and Cody met a new friend, a girl named Katie. They talked and played all the time. Eventually, they exchanged their real information and began texting and Skyping.

Fast forward to 2014. I booked a week off work and drove Cody and my younger son Brady to Regina to meet Katie.

Luckily, I had two friends who lived along our route in northern Ontario with whom we could stay on our way out west.

In Manitoba, I booked us a campsite, and in Regina, a hotel for a three-night stay.

We would be leaving Carleton Place, Ont., on Friday afternoon, arriving in Regina on Monday morning, and returning home the following Sunday. It was quite a trip, and one we will not forget any time soon.