Taking a family vacation during the summer is as much of an American tradition as baseball and apple pie.

As parents, we sometimes feel the need to compete for the best vacation we can have for our family. But we need to remember that the destination of your family vacation is not as important as spending quality vacation time with your family.

From my earliest memories of childhood, my family took a summer vacation each year. My parents were both schoolteachers, so each summer we would pack up the car with tents, camping gear, books and supplies and take off for a vacation somewhere in America.

We would drive thousands of miles in our very small Toyota station wagon and see an equal number of great landmarks, historical sites and strange things along the way. The things my teacher had talked about in school, my family would actually see in person.

We brought almost all our food and supplies with us, never stayed in hotels, and sometimes would sleep under the stars at night.

I remember standing with my brother, Jonathan, in front of dozens of "Welcome to the state of "»" signs as my father proudly took a picture. I remember cooking s'mores over the fire with my mother. I remember taking exciting hiking adventures around the campsite with my brother.

Most of all, I remember spending time with my family. It was time to play, time to learn, time to enjoy and time to be together as a family.

When I speak with tweens and teenagers about what they like most about their family vacations, I usually hear the same thing. They do say they love to go somewhere exciting and far away. However, not surprisingly, they say even more than an exciting place for a vacation, they like to spend real quality time with their parents and families.

This is not time watching TV, swimming while Dad plays golf, watching movies or shopping with their friends while the parents are away, but time when they are connected to their parents in whatever activity they are doing. Their favorite memories from their childhood and their teen years are those memories where they are with their parents!

Spending time with Mom and Dad is very important. Playing golf, fishing, visiting a zoo, hanging out on the beach or camping with Mom and Dad is just the means to get that time together that kids really need.

Teenagers' least favorite memories are when their family vacation turns into several smaller individual vacations where they are not connected with their parents. While having an individualized vacation for every member of the family sounds good in theory, the outcome is usually not what your children had in mind.

This does not mean your child or teenager is going to love every part of your summer vacation, but they will love being with you, even if they don't show it.

So this summer, pack up the car, pack in the kids, and plan an adventure that will not only take your family somewhere new on the map, but hopefully take your family somewhere closer together. Your kids will remember it for a lifetime.