Summer holidays

So everyone likes to have a holiday, most people in the summer but who likes all the traffic the holidays bring. Most people sit for hours on motorways trying to get to their destination. If you look around you will see a lot of caravans.
This is normally the point when some people start moaning, stupid caravans making everything go slow, stopping other cars from overtaking, etc, etc.
Hands up how many of you own (or holiday in) a caravan.
I think it is one of the best ways to have a holiday and have been going in a caravan since I was old enough to remember. The earliest I can remember, my brother was still in a travel cot and he is now 27, was of all the family being together. We had so much freedom, there was fun and laughter.
The 1st caravan I can remember going in was my Nan & Grandads' which they shared with my parents so there was 4 adults plus 3 children. It was a big Swift Challenger, double axle caravan. As we grew up and outgrew the space my grandparents sold the challenger to get two smaller caravans (they and my parents have been regretting this ever since so if anyone knows of a 5 berth twin axle challenger for sale from around 1988 let me know) We then had ( and still have) an Ace ambassador caravan whilst my grandparents bought themselves a 2 berth.
For about 7 years as we were growing up it used to be a real family holiday. My grandparents, my parents, my two brothers plus my aunty & uncle and their two kids, my other uncle and his partner and her four kids. We had four caravans, used to make sure we had pitches together, had two of them facing each other with wind breakers around the edges to stop us kids from escaping!!! and just done what we felt like on each day. Some days we went to the beach, some days shopping, some days just stayed on the camp.
As we got older my aunty & uncles stopped coming but some of my cousins continued to come. Now sadly my nan is no longer with us so my granddad has stopped caravanning but my brothers now have families of their own and the tradition of caravan holidays is continuing with them. Our caravan is now in need of some repairs (the floor is giving way) so we have for the last couple been in static caravans. Whilst this is still a joy it's not the same as going in your own, having a fight with the awning, putting the beds up and down, the walk to the toilet block in the middle of the night, all these things are part of the holiday.
I hope that in time when I have a family we can continue to enjoy this wonderful past time, just hook up the caravan and go wherever you want (within reason of course).

What do you think, are caravans the pain everyone things they are?
Do you go on caravanning holidays?