One of the things Al and I did right as parents was to travel with the boys.  Of course with family back in the Midwest we had to travel by plane from early on, so they had that down pat from an early age.  We also did a lot of road trips though.   Once Al’s business was up and running, and he had great employees always, we were able to get away for a month at a time. 

We mostly car camped at first, when we only had Joe, but as the family grew it just got to the point where Mom needed a little comfort.  Little ones waking up and crawling on my face at 6 a.m. did not a happy mommy make.    At home you can kind of let the babies play in the crib or watch cartoons and even if one was up, the others might stay asleep a little longer.  Not in the tent.  One baby wakes up, the place starts jumping like one of those inflatable bounce houses. 

So for a couple of years we rented trailers – one was a pop up tent trailer to go to Seattle and although that was ok it was a pain in the buttinski to put up and put down.  Then we rented a hard side to go to Yellowstone and the Tetons and we were hooked.  It was like staying in a cheap motel only we could make noise if we wanted.  So we purchased one and it took us all over the west and up into Canada.   We sold it a few months ago – I hated to say goodbye but Al used it during his stint with the FDIC in Irvine so he didn’t really ever want to sleep in it again.  I like my tent, anyway, and if we ever go that route again it will have a better bed. 

Our first vehicle was a Chevy Astro and it had what we called the “party seats.”  The middle seat could turn around and the boys could have their own den of iniquity back there.  Of course it made it difficult to deal with any world wars that might break out but you’d be surprised at how I could get out of my seatbelt and rain down rough justice if needed.   Mostly they got along, and by the time they were in elementary school those guys were troopers.  They learned that the first day of travel was long but that we’d end up somewhere great at the end of the day, or at least the second day of travel would be short.  A long day at the end of the trip meant home and video games awaited.

In the later years technology allowed us to have a small TV with video capability that we could plug into the “cigarette lighter” for boring stretches of highway.  All  I remember are two movies: The Jerk with Steve Martin, and Cool Runnings, the story of the Jamaican bobsled team.  We watched listened to those two movies all over the west.   If you popped in a DVD we’d probably all be able to chat along with the dialogue.  What’s the first line of The Jerk?  Anyone?   “I was born a poor black child.”  And what does his father tell him before going off into the world?  “Son, this is important for you to know, so listen up:  this is shit, and this is shinola.”  This is why my children have grown up to be so successful thus far.  We exposed them to quality entertainment and if nothing else, they know the difference between shit and shinola.

One year we took a shorter trip to June Lake on the other side of the Sierras. The mountain pass at Mono Lake that led over to Yosemite was closed for some reason – a rockslide, I believe  – and they were only allowing people to go through from about 5-6pm or something like that.  Near the end of our trip we had a decision to make.  We were all a bit tired of travelling and found ourselves as a family making the decision that we didn’t want to wait until the next day to get home, but realized we would have to break camp (we always put a tent up as well as having the trailer) in about an hour to get on the road to make the window of escape. 

Well, you would have thought we were on a reality show.  We knocked down that camp – you never saw such speed and organization.  Visions of video games danced in their heads and visions of my bed danced in mine.  We were just about to take off and had a bit of a snafu with our truck-to-trailer vehicle lights electric connection.  As usual,  Mary to the rescue, pulling apart the plug and reconnecting wires at lightning speed, her skills as a miniaturist and can-do attitude allowed us to make that crossing. 

I think it WOULD be a good premise for a reality show.  Families, including a boxer dog just to keep the humor alive, would have to travel around in a travel trailer and eventually get to the finish line first.  Challenges would be thrown in their path – sudden notices to pack up and get to the mountain pass before it closed at 6 p.m, for example.   All the crazy stuff that happens when you travel would just add to the fun.

One year we went to Waterton International Peace Park on the Montana/Canada border; we arrived to find the campground full and had to stop in at a friendly but very undeveloped private park.  We drove the trailer down a hill into the little enclave and settled in just as the rain started.  It didn’t stop all night, and we woke up to find ourselves and our truck and trailer in muck.  We did get out of there, but it was one of those times where Al and I were hiding our fear from the kids and praying as hard as we’ve ever prayed that we would not lose control of the trailer in the soupy, slippery mud as we drove up the steep hill to exit the place, so that we could make it to higher (and drier) ground at the park campground and carry on the rest of our trip without incident.   That was the same trip where, on the way home, we mis-calculated the distance to the next gas station and made it to the first town in Oregon over the border with nary a drop to spare.  Come to think of it, that was the second time on that trip that we prayed like we’ve never prayed before!  Al and I like a little adventure, what can I say?

As any family who has travelled around, the stories are endless.  I will get around to writing all of them down eventually, but suffice to say that my boys know how to travel.  They have seen the backroads of the West, they have seen many different ways to live in this country, and they have learned the joy and feeling of soul freedom that the open road can provide.  I am very proud that we gave them that gift!