The concept: Drive cross country to visit an uncle in California.
We had done it once before - when we were 4, 6 and 10 years old. It had been, as we recall, a grueling trip. Those long, long days of driving nineteen hours a day. Three kids in the back seat. Our parents were unable to wake us for Grand Canyon.
We talked about the trip for weeks, thinking of the sites we wanted to see. It included Route 66, a road we drove in 1950, the Grand Canyon and other National Parks.
As we began our 7400 mile trip, we compared road trips in 2008 versus those in 1950. This time around, we rode in an air conditioned SUV, with GPS, CD player, three cell phones, wheeled luggage and credit cards. There were plentiful choices of hotels/motels and restaurants.
In 1950 were took a sedan with a radio and no air conditioner. We took picnic lunches, maps and money. We stayed in cottages overnight - and asked to see the rooms before staying. My parents chose to "pass" on some accommodations after seeing them. Before crossing the desert, we bought water bags for the radiator at a "last chance for gas" station.
Our 2008 adventure included listening to audio books about the 1950s and reminisces and tributes written by Tim Russert and Tom Brokaw. We were armed with books about Route 66, 1000 Places to See Before You Die and AAA tour books.
The 1000 Places became our "bucket list;" we visited many national parks and monuments and some state sites. A narrow stretch of Route 66 through the mountains brought back memories of everyone sliding toward the driver's side of the car. This historic stretch of road still lacks railings at the edge of the cliff.
All in all, it was a good trip. Our country holds many great wonders.
