Thursday, January 10, 2008

Road Trips


The last family roadtrip was when the boys were in high school. We drove from Diamond Bar, California to Casper, Wyoming with voices in the backseat chanting, "Are we there yet?"always. And asking when it was my turn to drive, "Does Mom have to drive?" Followed by the grumbling assertion that, "We'll never get there."



Through the California deserts, the mountains of Arizona and the canyons and inclines of Utah, "Are we there yet?" became a mantra which varied only in the loudness and intensity with which it was delivered by two brothers certain there parents were put on earth as some kind of punishment. From time to time, the thought that may be in the olden days, one of the reasons people died young was because on the wagon ride out west, some parents just could not take, "Are we there yet?" one more time...

Then came the great unending flatness of the Great Plain of Wyoming which tested our resolve to drive to my sister-in-laws. For six hours the road was flat and straight. The scenery was as interesting as if it were the largest piece of paper in the universe.

We came to the first turn in the road. The magic began. There were antelope leaping near the road. In the distance, a double rainbow arched to our destination city, a place where big bucks ambled across the main street. We weren't in L.A. any more.


We not only got there. We went on to South Dakota. Driving through some of the most scenic parts of the country, places where Dances with Wolves was shot, where the likenesses of our greatest Presidents were dynamited out of the mountain rock.
The grandness and vastness enthralled me. I told my husband that I could live there.
He looked at me straight in the eye and said, "You- here? You would not make it past ten days of being snowbound in the winter."

Looking back, this was one of my favorite trips. If you think about yours, I think you will find that life is richer when we take it all in, including the imperfect parts.

7 comments:

  1. Oh Lydia, I did enjoy that so much! I can sure relate having four boys myself! Two of them are the age of yours, thereabouts!
    Those pictures and your memories are what life is made of and we thank God for them! Wonderful!! Thanks for sharing that!
    XO Trisha

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  2. This latest one is really good.....so nice that you've found a salon to keep your hair under control...... I've got pics of my Mom that can match the fullness and curl.....probably taken in the late 70's or around that time....and yours is natural....cost her a fortune though. :)

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  3. I don't remember ever seeing that much hair on you! Sounds like it was a good trip. Nowadays traveling with kids isn't quite as bad. I went from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe (about an 8 hour trip with my brother in law driving), and the boys each watched their own separate TV with their earplugs on. (Both TVs had two plugs so I got to watch too if there was something good on.) Anyway, they were quiet and content - it's a whole new world now with all this new technology!

    P.S. Gerry looked handsome!

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  4. That hairdo is a classic hairdon't. Perhaps the boys weren't happier on the trip because it blocked their view!

    Notice the price of gas? Even then, with our taxes in California, it was so much cheaper in Wyoming, I had my husband pose with the sign.

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  5. Lydia, loved your road commentary. I must agree about the "hairdon't, but back then we all did our own thing! Bravo for being brave to show the picture.

    You asked about my View From The Road link. Here it is:
    http://susan-maxwell.com/_wsn/page2.html
    Thanks for sharing! Oregon Sue

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  6. Great road commentary, Lydia! I have to agree about the "hair don't". You are a brave girl for publishing an old photo. I don't know if I could go back and dig out '70's or even '80's photos of me! Thanks for sharing your 'excellent adventure' with us.

    You asked about a link for my View From The Road. Here it is:
    http://susan-maxwell.com/_wsn/page2.html

    Oregon Sue

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  7. Thank you for providing the link to your road trip story. It was the inspiration to why I pulled out the old photo album. Something is amiss on the system. I've posted hot links before with no problem. With yours- it just wasnt' happening. And it is so worth reading.

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