September 2009
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Uh-huh!

Jack and Nate driving route 66, and the cooler nights signaling the end of summer is near get’s me thinking of road trips. Our family took one nearly every summer. My parents met, courted and married in Wisconsin. Their families lived about 6 miles apart in different towns so a visit to Wisconsin was always about taking “ the kids” to visit the extended family. Since we were an Air Force family that traveled all over and Dad got out of the military in Arizona, that is where we stayed. So visiting Mom and Dad’s old stomping ground was a 5 day trip by car. Five days being just about the breaking point for up to 8 people in a moving vehicle. If the trip were one day longer, Dad would have drove off a bridge into one of the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota and drowned us all.

For some reason, I’ll guess its because no one could decide on a radio station, we mostly traveled in silence. I’ll also guess that my father who spend most of his waking hours in a quiet workplace or in his near silent workshop after work became painfully aware he had 6 noisy kids and a wife who already knew what we were capable of, so he didn’t want to add to the din with road music. ( whoever thinks of packing 6 kids and a dog into a station wagon and driving cross country is either brave or likes pain.) My Dad loves Wisconsin so he is both. Still I would like to remember our trips as if they had a soundtrack. ( music picks below)

There was bravery at times, like sneaking a dog into a no pets allowed hotel along with the last 2 kids under blankets because there was a limit to how many people can stay in one hotel room and who wants to pay for the extra room for kids that are so tiny they can sleep at the foot of the bed?

Mostly it was pain. Swapping breathable air with a poodle dog with green teeth is okay the first day, but after 3 days, no AC, and close to 1000 miles its a form of torture. So are your brothers, sisters and the vinyl seat your legs are stuck to. By the time your family hits Lincoln, Nebraska the shiny has worn off and the whiny moves in. The only refuge: a sweaty numbing sleep with your head gently banging against the window as the olive green Plymouth with the faux wood side panels vibrates into Iowa.

Only through this haze of lows and intervening years the bright moments come through.

The year we dashed across the Texas Panhandle and hundreds of turtles/tortoises were crossing I-40. We watched in horror as they were crushed by semi-trucks while my Dad tried to fish tail through them. Finally Dave convinced my Dad to pull over so we could rescue one. Dan ran out to get the lucky guy who held his water until he got back to the car, then promptly pee-d all over Dan and Dave.

Yes, we named him, PeeWee.

The year Dave meant to throw my gum wad ( I had stuffed 5 pieces) out the window and it stuck to the Airstream Trailer we were towing. The giggles turned to horror as it melted, bubbled, and dried harder than a rock as the miles racked up. Waiting for Dad to notice and come unglued was a butt puckering form of torture, but now its just funny! I think when the Airstream went away it still had the gum stain on it no matter what my Dad had “the boys” do to get it off.

Yes, Dad’s melt down was more impressive than the gum’s!

Epic.

In the instant gratification department…The simple discovery that there were no state parks or KOA’s ( private for pay campgrounds) in the area we were stopping for the night and we would have to stay in a hotel, was a joy like no other. WHOO HOO! I’ve got two words…

Hotel.

Pool.

______________

Road Music Picks

( stole this from Rolling Stone with a resounding Uh-Huh! at each pick)

1. “Immigrant Song,” Led Zeppelin
2. “Born To Run,” Bruce Springsteen
3. “Highway to Hell,” AC/DC
4. “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” Tom Petty
5. “Truckin’,” Grateful Dead
6. “Ol’ 55,” Tom Waits
7. “Radar Love,” Golden Earring
8. “Tush,” ZZ Top
9. “The Passenger,” Iggy Pop
10. “Wanted Dead or Alive”, Bon Jovi
11. “Passenger Side,” Wilco
12. “Turn the Page,” Bob Seger
13. “No Particular Place to Go,” Chuck Berry
14. “Going Back to Cali,” LL Cool J
15. “Born to be Wild,” Steppenwolf
16. “Running On Empty,” Jackson Browne
17. “Take It Easy,” Eagles
18. “Award Tour,” Tribe Called Quest
19. “Taking the Long Way,” Dixie Chicks
20. “Roadrunner,” Modern Lovers
21. “Rearviewmirror,” Pearl Jam
22. “Gravity Rides Everything,” Modest Mouse
23. “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” Beastie Boys
24. “Pink Houses,” John Mellencamp
25. “Travelin’ Band,” Creedence Clearwater Revival