In 1983, when my sons were about ten years old, we had the chance to take a road trip across the United States. My sister and her family, which included two very young children, were living then in California and were being transferred back to the East Coast. In those days, flying was a lot less complicated, so we flew out to California, gave them our return tickets, and then drove their station wagon and camper back across the country, accompanied by my mother-in-law. My husband's brother and sister and their families also lived in California, so it was an opportunity for a lot of family catch-up. We took the boys out of school a little early, so we avoided the summer crush at the camp grounds. My sister avoided a long car trip with her young kids, and we got a memorable family adventure. Win-Win!
Of course, the boys didn't want to stand on the ground if there was something to climb.
Or hide behind.
The breath-taking vistas of the Grand Canyon were certainly a highlight of the trip, as they would be for any trip. It was certainly
memorable for me and my husband since I fell there and sprained my ankle, so I was not able to drive for the rest of the trip. Bob swears to this day that I did it on purpose so he would have to do all the driving.
The amazing cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde gave an intriguing look at the Pueblo culture, plus an opportunity for the boys to do more climbing.
At the Silverton-Durango railroad, we let the train do the climbing and then stopped off in Denver for a visit to the Molly Brown House.
Crossing the Kansas prairie, we stopped at the cattle town of Historic Abilene, where the boys met with some bison up close and personal. We also visited Dwight Eisenhower's home.
At Hannibal MO, before crossing the Mississippi, we visited the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain. For me as an English teacher, this was fascinating. I suspect that Matt and James were more interested in Tom Sawyer's cave.
By time we reached Illinois and visited Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, we were getting pretty tired. Our car broke down outside Indianapolis and we had an enforced visit there while we waited for repairs. We made one quick stop in Columbus Ohio where we visited the German village and then sprinted for home back in Maryland. All in all, we spent about three weeks working our way across America.
When I asked my sons recently what they remembered about that trip, my son James said that his lasting legacy was that he still knew all the words to every Simon and Garfunkel song. He swears we played the same cassette over and over throughout the trip. (Absolutely not true! I'm positive we played John Denver tapes as well.)
For me, the trip cured me of any desire to ever go camping again.
So much for learning about American history and culture. (Although surely, Simon and Garfunkel count as American culture!)
In any case, it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, not to mention lots of quality time with Grandma Agee, and I'm glad we took advantage of the opportunity when it arose.
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