A road trip that created fun memories with my daughter. | Shutterstock

My husband and I both grew up in a road trip family. I am sure between the two of us there are thousands of miles clocked, not to mention the countless c-store snacks consumed.  

We’ve carried this over to our own family, including a handful of long 1,200-mile road trips around the United States. But sometimes a short road trip can be just as rewarding. 

That is what happened when my oldest daughter and I did a college visit at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, on Aug. 1. The driving distance for this road trip was short, just 90 minutes round trip, however, we made a lifetime of memories.

We chatted the whole way up there about her future career aspirations, where she would like to live after college and much more. It offered the chance to talk through fears of stepping into adulthood as well.

When we were done with the college tour, I convinced her to take a detour to check out a new convenience store that opened that same day.

The new Gas N Wash (pictured above) that opened on Aug. 1 was a perfect pit stop. Located at 1900 E. Hintz Road, Wheeling, Illinois, the c-store chain is owned by Leonard McEnery, with headquarters in Tinley Park, Illinois. 

• Gas N Wash is No. 191 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by U.S. store count.

I found out from Laura Krawisz, vice president of marketing for Gas N Wash, that the c-store chain started in 2012 and now operates 36 locations in Illinois. Thirty-two of the stores are under the Gas N Wash banner and four are under the Food N Fuel banner.

“We have multiple sites in development for 2026 opening,” she said.

At the Wheeling store, Mike, the manager, was super friendly. While paying for our snacks, he mentioned the free car wash promotion they were running as part of the new opening.

On a hot, summer August day in Chicago, I wasn’t sure if my teenage daughter would go for it. But she did. We pulled the car around and entered the car wash. My daughter pulled up the song “Car Wash” by Rose Royce on her phone. We laughed as we tried to sing the words. It was a perfect way to soak up the day’s events.

Driving home we turned the air conditioning off and rolled down the windows. One of my favorite Van Morrison’s songs, “These Are the Days,” came on the radio. It’s not an iconic highway famous song, but for this road trip it was, especially the last two stanzas: “these are the days that will last forever, you’ve got to hold them in your heart.”

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