We never called them Road Trips - we called them VACATIONS! Through the years, we had some great ones and also some road trips from hell! I think that's when we heard most of the Daddy-isms. "You can go 3 days without food" etc. Some of our not-so-great ones always involved food or animals. Do you remember the time Louie got car sick and barfed on Daddy's neck? And the fried chicken in the new car? What else? We were a poor sight arriving at motels with a car full of kids with pets. How about that moldy hotel in Tennessee? What other ones? One of the good ones was tranfering to Louisiana from N.J. We stopped in Alabama and ate dinner at a restaurant that was owned by Bear Bryant, Coach for the Crimson Tide. Kath, you were only 3 or so, Joe was a baby and Jane, just a little older. Anyway, they made a big fuss over you and made our day.
What other trips do you remember? And how about trips with your families?
About Me
- Betty
- I am retired and enjoying it. Love to visit family and the many grandchildren. Interested in people, cultures, learning about our differences and sameness.
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13 comments:
Starngely, I remember the place owned by Bear Bryant. It's vague, but it's there. I also remember the moldy hotel-the pillows smelled like dog poop, and I was scared to death that there was a monster in the place. The rooms were actually trailers in my memory. Is that right? I remember the suitcase falling off the top of the station wagon somewhere in Europe, and one of the best trips was when we were older and went to see the Wells' at KI Sawyer. We saw Niagara Falls, and it was amazing. As an adult, my biggest trip was the one Jane and I took to Wyoming with most of the kids. And when Jane and I took Kristinn to Mo. for college, we laughed all the way. There seemed to be an incident we called "Colon blow." Enough said...And how about the camping trip to Big Bend, Jane? It rained and all of our stuff got soaked, so we spent hours in the little laundromat drying everything out...It made Jane love camping even more than she already did...:)
I don't remember Bear Bryant's. Was that where Kathi said she didn't want "grass" on her plate?! I do remember the trailer hotel. That was one of our worst stays. And the suitcase falling off the car. I have that memory of driving from one base to another in the station wagon with Billy's cloth diapers hanging out the car window to dry. And going to Chicago to see Aunt Cass when I was about 16; I remember one of the McMahon girls (Kathy?) taking us to the "hippie" part of town and I loved it. LOL I also remember those kids cursing their parents like sailors and I was so shocked that they got away with it. We had a blast taking Kristinn to college--we DID laugh the whole way. And the WY trip was quite the adventure with the rain, squeezing everyone into one hotel room and not being able to figure out how the shower worked, getting sick on the road, and the van breaking down on the way back! Crazy. The camping trip was fun--I really didn't dwell on the soaked bedding too much! Remember the javelina running through the campsite?
Our family drove from TX to NJ one year and slept in the van in a rest stop next to a semi truck full of cows. They moo-ed all night and stunk to high heaven. We had to get up, wash our faces and brush our teeth in the rest stop bathroom before hitting the road again. YUCK.
We also drove to CO one year, stopped off at the volcano just over the border from TX in NM and Susan was so nervous about it that her hands were all sweaty. She was little and I don't think she understood that it was not going to blow its top when we were in it. :)
Seems like we were on the road a lot with school activities with the kids, track meets, taking the girls to college, visiting relatives in various places, going to reunions. We usually had a good time with snacks in the car, cold drinks in the cooler, music playing, and talking about lots of stuff. Sarah and Bonnie will remember the trip to Lubbock at Christmas time when we met Karen and her kids. We not only got a flat on our van, but after we got it fixed, the headlights went out. It was dark, I got the van stuck in the mud pulling off to the side of the road, and a "scary" woman stopped to ask us if we needed any help. The girls were afraid of her, but she was a good Samaritan who went and called the police for us. A cop got us out of the mud and then escorted us us to the Motel 6 because we had no headlights and had spent most of our money shopping. The girls tried on all their new clothes in our crowded hotel room. The next morning we realized that the high beams worked so we could have driven home after all. OOOPS.
You're absolutely right about the trailer-motel. Seems that's all he had left to rent and we were pooped from traveling. As usual, Dad didn't want to stop earlier so we were stuck. I hated it as the sheets were all damp and looked like there had been a party as there were empty beer cans on the table. We slept in our clothes.
Yeah, that was Kathi's debut in the theatre with the grass episode. See that, Kath how far you've come!
The Samsonite suitcase fell off the stationwagon in France. We were either coming/going to visit our French friends. I remember thinking we should write to Samsomite and tell them how hardy their product was.
I figured you would mention the trip to Niagara Falls via Kansas, Chicago and Michigan. We picked up Margie McMahon in Chicago and took her with us. That was a good trip!
ha, from grass on my plate to In God's Hands...I've had several people tell me that my rap song should be marketed! Ha! I think someone actually taped it with the intention of putting it on YOU Tube. aiyiyi. Another good show tonight even though there were a few missed lines since we didn't have a show last night and actors get a little off- but notbody seemed to notice and appreciative audiences are always good.
Jane, was it on our way to Wyoming that we stopped in Palo Duro Canyon? I remember we were with the kids, and it was really beautiful there. I've got to get to bed!
Yes, we did stop at Palo Duro Canyon on the way to WY. I think we had a picnic lunch there?
The most memorable one is the trip we took to NJ when we slept in our new van next to a trailer full of mooing cows. It was a LONG night to say the least! We had to brush our teeth in the bathroom at the truck stop and I was at the age that I was mortified that we were "those" people!
Also, the trip to Jackson Hole was a fun one. I had a walkman and I guess would sing out loud to the music. Bonnie was constantly shushing me and telling me I was off pitch :)
Jane do you remember going up the moutain in Wy following the "Griswolds" camper to Joes first house, I almost shit my pants laughing that day.
I remember following the Griswald's up the mountain. THAT was some trip in so many ways! I just realized that in my first comment I wrote "Starngely" instead of "Strangely." aiyiyi. That was also the trip that Uncle Kirby told Rachel to throw the rock over the balcony, and she blew out Aunt Teresa's rental car's back window...
Oh yeah, how could we forget the Griswolds coming up the mountain? I laughed so hard, too, and it became our theme for the whole trip. Isn't that when one of the Shaver girls was making passes at Alan? I have to say that my relationship with Cindy went downhill after that fiasco.
A Shaver was making passes at Alan??? I don't remember that. You mean he could have had a Shaver girl???? Hahaha- PERFECT.
I thought you were pissed because one of them (maybe Cheryl?) was flirting with him? Did I dream that up?!
You know- you may be right now that I think about it- mentioning the Cheryl name brought back the memory. Women were always coming on to Alan- actually they still do, but where it used to make me mad, now it's just kind of funny. He is pretty cute for an old guy. :)
I'm reading all of these old entries! In the trailer, a tree stump served as a stool. No wonder they had trouble getting up the mountain.
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