Road Trip

Ah yes, the summer road trip. I remember them semi-fondly from my childhood. The smell of lemon Wet-Ones takes me right back to my Mom's 1970 (bought it new!) Ford Country Squire station wagon with the fake wood paneling. It had these little fold-out seats in the way back, so dangerous, but that's where I wanted to ride. We would leave from our home in Montana and drive all the way to California. The stops we made were the best. I preferred Cactus Pete motels. I liked the logo with the little guy asleep under the cactus and they had these really cool clover shaped pools and the added bonus of being located in Nevada where Mom could play the slots while we swam. Come to think of it, the pools were probably spade-shaped, not clover, weren't they? Another place had a pool with a window in one wall so the people in the motel bar could watch the swimmers. Now, I think that is the creepiest thing I've ever heard of, but at the time my brother and I were highly entertained, daring each other to perform stunts for the bar patrons. I've actually done a reunion road trip and re-visited some of those motels I loved so much. One of my favorites was this place in Idaho Falls. It was a round high-rise and the pool (it's all about the pool) had an island in the middle of it. That place set the bar for me. Anyway, I went to see this place a few years ago and was told they had remodeled and filled-in the pool. How could they? One time, we planned to stay at the Mark Twain Inn in Reno. We had a brochure that boasted of it's "Olympic swimming pool" and luxurious accommodations. When we got there it was this grungy, flea-infested little dive and I don't know how they got their camera to stretch the pool for the picture, but it certainly didn't impress me and I knew from pools. We packed back up and found a nice Holiday Inn, always dependable. Sometimes my Mom would let whoever was marginally close to driving age take over the wheel. Yes, there we were, barreling down the highway in the middle of the desert, Mom asleep and the rest of us holding on for dear life. Plus, talk about "are we there yet", this was the early 70s. Our entertainment was the radio (did I mention we were in the desert?) books if you could read through the Dramamine and each other. My brother and I learned to start each trip with the imaginary dividing line between us, it just made things much less hostile. This week I am embarking on a family road trip. A little 16 hour jaunt up north to see some family and friends.The kids complain, but they have no idea, do they? When part of the packing involves selecting DVDs they all will like, I'd say they need to pipe it! Plus, when we get there, the pool will be swell.