Willin’ at the End of the Road.

Another road trip is behind us.  

It was interesting, that as we approached our departure to Florida, we both felt ill prepared and concerned that we weren’t packing everything we would want.  Of course there are the usual summer clothes, but for this trip the weather was less than ideal and part of the concern was warm clothes.  I also packed my travel guitar as usual and we included our cooler, laptop, iPod (15+ gigs of music), camera and pillows.  On the day of departure the car was packed and we left in a timely fashion with everything we needed (even though it was snowing).  I guess we’re getting good at this ‘Road Trip’ thing.

This trip differed from last year’s ‘Spring Break’ by the fact we planned a side trip on our way to Florida: tour at least one distillery in the Bourbon area in Kentucky, as elucidated by MaryAlice’s blog during our travels.  I think we will be incorporating side trips a lot more as we travel in the future.   We learned how important side trips are during our Route 66 trip and Maine trip (our stop in the Thousand Island area is a great example…. We loved this unplanned stop!).  

Once again the highlight of the trip was the people we met during our travels.   As I’ve stated in our previous blogs, people that we meet traveling are almost always friendly, courteous and helpful.  There is also camaraderie among road warriors.  I guess the reason I find this important to mention is that in today’s world, it’s so easy to fall into the negative spiral proffered by the instant media of the day.  From twitter, facebook, 24/7 news blaring the demise of the world or of society as we know it, along with the shrill politic of the day one might assume that our society has gone bust, or ‘things aren’t like they used to be’ or ‘people are just rude.’    Our experience couldn’t be further from that portrayal.  To the point, there are still considerate, generous, and genuinely enjoyable people we meet everywhere we’ve gone.  These people are the backbone of our society, the people from different walks of life; they are the many facets of America that make it great.

The added plus to these road trips is the discovery of local gems we stumble upon.  From the planned distillery stop to small antique shops on Anna Maria Island, to home town parades celebrating St Paddy’s Day, to an Irish pub where the wait person works only for beer and food and still has the time to tell us what to see in the area and what to avoid.

Now I am experiencing withdrawal from planning to hit the road again soon.  I guess I’ll have to wait for our spring camp out with friends in May. 

The next ‘Road Trip’ will be in August to Glacier National Park.  (Note that on the return trip we will be looking for ghost towns in Montana, stop at Devils Tower, Crazy Horse Mountain and Mount Rushmore….. talk about planning side trips!!!). It will be epic! 

Yes planning another trip:

To quote a song by Lowell George :

I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty don't ya know, and I'm still, willin'
Out on the road late at night, Seen my pretty Alice in every head light
Alice, MaryAlice*

I've been from Tucson  to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me: weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I'll be willin', to be movin'

*I took some liberties here  (hee hee)

Yes, we’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari!  We’re definitely ‘willin to be movin’.  

Until next time!