It's Just Us

Ever have an idea that sounded great at the time and as the moment of fruition came closer you started to, well, wonder? That’s the story of this:

The Somewhat Golden Triangle 2011

When my sister and I were growing up, our parents liked to travel. Our father liked to travel a lot (photo shoots in Africa, a road trip from Los Angeles to the tip of South America, trips around the world, you get the idea); our mother not so much. Oh the traveling was fine, she just wanted a Hilton at the end of the day rather than mosquito netting. I’m a lot like her – a Motel 6 is more than I care to rough it.

One of the great things about that traveling was that mom and dad rarely left my sister and me with relatives while they took off. The family traveled together (except for the Africa and South America trips that my father did with friends and I’m still a bit ticked off about missing). And they liked to travel by car. Of the three cars in the garage, one was always a sport wagon. And whenever the travel bug hit, my father would say let’s go. The car would be packed, and off we’d head to wherever look good. The mountains? Sure. The desert? Why not. Key West? Absolutely. Mexico City during Christmas? Pack the gifts. Acapulco for a month during school? Pack the books.

Looking back I can see just how wonderful those trips were. We saw – and came to really know – the spaces and people between airports. We didn’t fly from Los Angeles to Acapulco, we drove. We didn’t stay in a hotel while there, we rented an apartment. When you drive from Los Angeles to Acapulco you see people – how they live, what they do, how towns and cities vibrate with life.

When we drove from LA to Miami we visited towns and people across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida. We were able to stop and see things we’ve never seen and wouldn’t see if we weren’t there. The taste and aromas of Cajun food in little restaurants in the bayou are so much better than in an airport lounge.

Waking up at 6am in the middle of somewhere new, piling in the car and driving for an hour until you stop for breakfast, not at a Denny’s but at a local restaurant, offer your senses things that cannot be achieved any other way. Road trips are meaningful in so many areas for touching cultures, seeing the vast expanse of this nation, and really experiencing newness.

And that is what this series of blogs is about. A golden triangle road trip starting in San Diego, meandering up the coast of California and Oregon, then heading across Oregon and Idaho, and down through the desert back to San Diego. A few of the areas we’re going to see are Morro Bay State Park, California Coastal Nat’l. Monument, Silver Park Wilderness Area, Ventana Wilderness, Monterrey, Big Sur, Redwoods State Park, Half Moon Bay, Bodega Bay, Fort Bragg, Humboldt State Park, Redwoods Nat’l Park, Klamath Falls, Willamette National Forest, Crater of the Moon National Monument, and more. Or perhaps we won’t see half of those – or we’ll see places not on the list – it doesn’t matter. That’s the great thing about a road trip, you can change the itinerary on a whim. And whim plus kids will be the driving force on this trip.

I’ll be blogging at least daily. This may be a road trip but I’m still not roughing it. We’ve rented a small WiFi connected motor home to take us from inn to inn and so I’ll be posting to the blog, writing my newspaper column, and teaching two classes while we travel. It’s going to be interesting – but isn’t that what life should be? Feel free to add to the blogs, offer suggestions, helpful hints, and ways to get over the “are we there yet?” syndrome from the 14-year-old. The beat, and the motor home, will roll shortly.