Some of my fondest childhood memories were our family vacations. Dad would pack up the car the night before and we'd head off to the same spot every year--a lake in northern Minnesota. Our General Motors product would be stuffed with fishing gear, clothes, towels, linens and food and we'd travel north, on two-lane highways, taking in the Iowa and Minnesota countryside while passing through small towns--Shenandoah, Clarinda, Harlan, Montevideo, Menagha and on to our destination. Perhaps a night would be passed in a motel and usually lunch was consumed at a joint marked "Cafe."
That great American roadtrip will be re-created tomorrow as my wife and I head off to Jackson Hole by way of the Badlands in South Dakota, and Devil's Tower and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. And, Musings, Notes & Quotes will be along for the ride.
Check back in with us here as I document observations about the new millenium's version of a road trip versus what I experienced in the 1960's and 1970's. It'll be fun...
Family road trips are the best...our family always went to Myrtle Beach every three years. Perhaps the most harrowing experience was in 1996 when I was 17 and my dad let me drive as soon as we left Ashland, NC...well, it was 8:30pm and before I knew it, my folks and brother were OUT, and I was left alone driving on foreign roads in the dark...wish I had a GPS then! Lots of Pepsi and 8 hours later my mom woke up and asked in a panic "WHERE ARE WE?" I calmly said "about 20 miles from St. Louis."
ReplyDeleteMy dad was proud. My mom was hysterical. LOL...