I had the VW and was told not to go outside my college territory, but I strayed. A friend I met the first day of orientation asked me to take him home so he could introduce me to the girl he said he would marry, and did. I charged gas in New Jersey and my parents found out. So I only had the car for a semester, thanks W.
Another was after college and there was a problem with the VW I had again for some reason. My roommate and I, colleagues both working for the legislature, and we filled up with gas, $5.30 I recall, and it ran out in 50 miles. Luckily I got her home OK and made the last two hours without incident.
Traveling to Albany NY I took the mountain route in an ice storm. Not a smart thing with no snow tires or AWD. I finally had to stop and get solid ice off my headlights. Another VW. I’m sensing a pattern here.
On a good note we took a long drive through NY State, Canada and Vermont with my husband and his parents several years ago. Jim’s father is consumed with Civil War readings so I wanted to give him more fodder, the Revolutionary War. The theme was war, water, and I sneaked in womens’ suffrage.
We started with them in the Civil War suite in a B&B, courtesy of my Aunt L, then drove to see my cousins and uncle in Toronto. Then I drove and narrated a trip through Ft. Ticonderoga and my father-in-law even got to work the first lock on the Erie Canal. That was a terrific road trip.
Driving out west was not a good one. With two cars and a dog we finally found out what “high plains” mean. It means you’re at nearly 9,000 feet above sea level and cross the Continental Divide several times and can’t breathe. I could not stay awake. When we finally came down to 6,400 feet (a block from where we now live) we all crashed before starting up the next day to find a place to live, where we are now, and starting work. After packing up our lives and driving across country, we found out later that the recruiter had lied to us and that my husband was only on a two-week “trial basis.” Luckily they liked him but didn’t a few weeks ago when he was let go with 25% of the IT department.
When I was very young my parents would put us in our PJ’s at 4:00 in the morning and we’d drive many hours to a beach. In later years we had to be dressed the entire trip, in dresses. I finally convinced my parents to let us wear matching shorts and shirts in the car and change 1/2 hour before we arrived at our destination. We always enjoyed our vacations, and in later years not being confined in church clothes for a 14-hour trip.
A year ago my husband and I did a whirlwind trip through Jackson and the south end of Yellowstone. If we stay, perhaps we can do more trips to see the natural beauty of where we live.
Many trips I remember were not car journeys, more on that later. Y’all take care, Dee
Cooking with Dee 