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I recently found a roll of film and was rewarded with photos from a 2002 trip when 26 family members chartered a bus to Disney.

I remember that 10 minutes into that drive, my son Geoffrey said, “I feel like I’ve been on this bus forever!”

“I only agreed because I didn’t think it would happen,” said my brother-in-law Mike.

I walked the aisle to find my brother Matt talking on the phone while trying to remove a splinter he got on the bus.

My niece Brandi, also on the phone, tempted my daughter Monique to use hers. (In 2002, my kids didn’t have nation-wide calling plans.)

“Please,” Monique begged.

“Who would you call?” I asked.

“Delta Airlines.”

I kept walking and found two sisters fighting over headphones, someone snoring, and my dad grilling the driver. “Are we making good time?” “When will we stop to eat?” “What time will we get there?”

My Dad used our breakfast stop to walk around the parking lot. I pointed him back to the bus, almost left my niece Mattie at McDonald’s, and faced Monique again.

“We won’t have a traditional Thanksgiving,” Monique said.

“How many traditional Thanksgivings have you had?” I asked.

“18.”

“How many have you enjoyed?”

“None. Now I feel better!”

My dad’s questions continued. “How long has it been since our last stop?” “When will we stop again?”

A preacher once said we should travel through life like we’re on a bus headed to Disney. I’ll bet you a hot fudge sundae that man never went to Disney on a bus. Or if he did, it wasn’t with my family.

But maybe he was right. Maybe life is all about traveling with people you love, finding your place amid many personalities, helping someone back on the bus when they’ve been sidetracked, and looking for the one who is missing. And at the end of our journey, all of Heaven awaits.

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.