There's nothing like getting in the car with your high school senior (and his two younger brothers) and hitting the road to check out colleges. Take out the road map (i.e., program GPS), crank the radio (i.e., plug in ipod) and off we go for a spin through New England in October. Does it get any better than this? Leaves are changing color, an autumn chill is in the air and we take the scenic route any chance we get.

We stop in Amherst and Northampton, two picture perfect New England towns that are home to a couple of equally pretty college campuses. We get out and stretch our legs. I get a coffee and the boys get a snack before our scheduled tours.

We take our college tour walking across campus, leaves rustling under our feet, the faint smell of wood burning somewhere out there among the red brick buildings that surround us. I feel like we're walking through history, through colonial times. Our college tour guides are two sophomores and they're funny and animated and we happily follow behind them with the rest of our group asking quesions along the way.  After the hour-long Q & A session and tour we get lunch, jump back in the car and head off for Boston where we'll spend the night and hit a handful more schools the following day. 

I don't want this trip to end, I don't want my son to leave for college next year.  I just want to keep on driving and touring schools and laughing and singing in the car with my boys.