A father-son road trip around the country raises money for autism programs

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OMAHA, Neb. (KPTM) — It’s the road trip of a lifetime between father and son — 19 days, 48 states, all in a Corvette.

Mike Straub and his son Adam are stopping in every state except Alaska and Hawaii in almost weeks. But it’s not just for a chance to bond.

“I looked at him like ‘Oh, Adam; that’s a lot of driving, buddy,” said Mike Straub. “And Adam said, ‘I don’t care.'”

Road trips like this aren’t anything new to the Straub family. Mike said this time the trip will just be him and Adam: “I decided to pick a new route with new state signs, new roads, new places to visit.”

But the traveling isn’t the only thing Adam is looking forward to; there are the donations for Autism Action Partnership. The organization partnered with the Straubs’ mission, which provides services to people on the spectrum.

With social media updates throughout the trip, the two hope to get more donations.

“We’ve had some pretty deep discussions while we’ve been driving along.”

Eric Straub said this experience will be good for his brother.

“You know, when you’re driving for 9 hours on the road, side by side, it’s just kind of one on one time,” Eric said, “That type of conversation starts to come out.”

Adam’s mom, Jolene, said this trip is all he’s been talking about.

“He was pretty excited this morning,” said Jolene. “I was like, ‘Calm down, buddy; you’ve got a couple tests to take — pace yourself.”

As they set off on their journey, with the support of Adam’s classmates, this trip is more than just the hours of driving.

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