Road Trip

My brother and I recently returned from a road trip to Boise, Id to see the family. I had decided about two weeks prior that I wanted to be in Boise for the Fourth, a long held tradition. My brother wanted to be there too so we sat off that Thursday night for the trip, following the same path my parents and grandparents had followed almost 40 years ago.

I love road trips. I love traveling.

During the summers when my parents couldn't get time off to take us to Boise, they would send us by Greyhound or Continental. As we packed up my little car with suitcases, pillows and food, I thought about all the times we'd be at the bus station with our suitcases, pillows and food, my mother nervously reminding us of all the things we could and couldn't do; don't talk to strangers, don't leave the terminal with anyone who was not family, stay together, don't give anyone your food, don't spend all your money before getting to Boise, call the minute we got there or if there was any trouble.

We were so excited to be going alone and feeling mature above our ages (like all kids do at that age), we would only half listen. And God blessed-we never had a bad experience except when the bus broke down right out of Salt Lake.

Driving through the dark desert this time I kept thinking about how difficult it must have been for my parents to pack up three children and then travel with them in the car and not smother them or leave them in the desert. I'm sure we must have worn on them most of the time.

As we drove alone, I thought about how the scenery had or hadn't changed in all the years we had made the trip. The mountains are still stern and wondrous looking, the plains sparse with cattle and other livestock spotting here and there, the light of the lone farmhouse flickering there in the distance. Some of the cities have grown, still others have vanished completely. This is the road we're used to, not the snow-laden, treacherous road we traveled in December.

After spending about six days in Boise we drove down to Vegas and celebrated my birthday with the Twins in their new apartment in North Las Vegas. Now Vegas? Vegas changes more times than a baby with diarrhea! A trip down the Strip is an adventure because it's always changing! If Vegas is feeling the recession, it didn't seem like it the week we were there. The only sign of trouble that I noticed were two buildings that construction had stopped due to bankruptcy. Imagine this huge building in the middle of the Strip completely dark and deserted. A bit unnerving. In case you're wondering, I don't gamble. Didn't put even a penny in a machine. I hate working too much to spend my hard earned dough in a slot machine.

We made it back home at 3am Tuesday morning and I reported to work freshly showered and relaxed that same morning. Boy did I feel it by the end of the day though (hee hee). I fell into my bed, clothes and all, and didn't wake until six the next morning. I did waken sometime during the night to take off my clothes but can't remember when.

I've been blessed to do two road trips this year: driving from Jacksonville, Fl to Atlanta last March, and this Boise trip. I think the desert is so much more scenic than woods but I'm biased.