Off to see America

Today is the day! I'm pretty much all packed, and all I have to do is transfer it to the car. I need to run the dishwasher, take last-minute trash to the dump and drop off leftover food to Hannah. Shut down all the house systems, set up the light timers and lock everything up. That's it.

The highway beckons. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved the feeling of going somewhere. The journey was the fun part; the destination, an afterthought. I remember countless family car trips, waking up in the back of the station wagon, snuggled in my toasty-warm sleeping bag next to my little brother, watching the dawning sky turn pink, as mom and dad drove through the desert night. I am old enough to remember Burma-Shave signs, license plate spotting games, and roadside tables (not fancy rest stops), where mom made olive sandwiches and opened cans of Vienna sausages and Underwood deviled ham for lunch to economize.

America wasn't full of McDonald's then, and every place looked different, unique, alien and wonderful. Now of course, the landscape from coast to coast is pretty much homogeneous--the same strip malls and fast-food joints, the same big-box stores and franchises. Drop off the interstate, and every place looks like the place you just left, only the scenery of the physical terrain changes. The voices on the radio had regional accents, not the bland dialect of Universal Radio Announcers today. The commercials advertised strange wonders like "hog enclosures," "frappes," and "meat and three with hush puppies."

Mostly what I remember from those journeys into the unknown parts of the country was the sense of freedom--flying down the highway, watching the ribbon of asphalt wind out the back window. Going someplace new. And when I learned to drive myself, it just got better! I was in charge of the route and the stops, and I got to decide when to break or when to travel off the beaten path to explore a curiosity.

This trip has the added benefit of excitement about the destination. I am traveling to see my grown children, my family, and to meet up with my husband in three or four weeks.

Let's go!