Grab a cuppa, sit back and let me take you on a little trip. I’m providing some music for the ride.
New England. A gathering of states, snuggled together, that beckon tourists from everywhere. For my family some years back, a few hours spent driving in a northwesterly direction, out of New York, was the start of a grand tour and the gathering of sometimes wonderful memories.
Packed along with extended family in our nine-passenger, bigger than life, station wagon were road maps (remember those?) We started in the outer edges of western Massachusetts and forged a snake-like pattern through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, back through the eastern side of Massachusetts, breezed by Rhode Island (tiny state, easy to fly by) and ended up at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut before trudging back to The Empire State.
Picture this if you will…our family truckster complete with a luggage carrier on the roof. Inside, the rear seat facing the back window held two young cousins. Behind the wheel, my husband. Riding shotgun, yours truly, clutching previously mentioned road maps. In the second seat, our three-year old daughter, standing freely, unencumbered by a mandatory child car seat, flanked by her favorite Aunt and Uncle.
We were off! Almost. After one.. tiny delay.
Somehow, as we all prepared to load family and necessities into the station wagon, my husband managed to back-up the car at a furious pace and ran over my Samsonite luggage that was waiting at the curb. After that opener, the first hour of travel was silent except for the grumbles heard in the front seat…from me. Later, as we crossed into Massachusetts, the mood lifted with the beautiful scenery around us and we rushed to make our first, of what seemed like thousands, of rest area stops.
Why is it that every time people scurry out of a car for a bathroom, they stop and load up on more drinks that just pave the way for the next rest area emergency?
Our chosen path was Route 7 which wound through magnificent countrysides, past farms with grazing cows and horses and the occasional, irresistible tourist shops which, when our trip was over, probably rivaled bathroom pit stops. But hey, that’s what a vacation is all about, purchasing those irresistible memories that end up being stored in the attic once you return home.
Now and then, the roads would lead us to quaint covered bridges and endless photo opportunities much to the dismay of two husbands and three complaining children who were all deliberately ignored.
Honestly, how could anyone resist sights like these?
The journey continued as our road map became more tattered with marks of happy travels and various “forks in the road”. We often ventured off the beaten path and did some exploring, eventually landing in New Hampshire and the infamous Mt. Washington Auto Road. This stop, I can assure you, was not for the fainthearted.
Like myself.
Consider the size of most vehicles years ago. Then, place them on a mountain road with a perilous right-sided drop into oblivion. Cars making the climb up, and down, barely had enough passing room and crept by each other as the drivers kept a death-grip on the wheel.
It was a warm afternoon but, as we crept up the winding road that took us 6,288 feet into the heavens, it gradually became cooler once we landed at the Observatory. Just past the tree line, evidence of the intense wind near the mountain top was seen on all the trees that were bare on one side.
After this, it was all downhill (some treacherous road humor here) with frequent stops to throw water on the smoking car brakes. At the end, each wary road climber was given a “This car climbed Mt. Washington” bumper sticker.
Shortly after that ride, everyone headed for the nearest bathroom.
Next on our ever-winding road trip was scenic Maine, its rocky coastline, the Quoddy outlet ….and Lobster.
Then, on to New Bedford, Massachusetts, the Whaling Museum, Seamen’s Bethel (made famous in the movie “Moby Dick”), the Gloucester Fisherman’s Statue…and more… Lobster.
Heading back down the coast brought my personal trip favorite…Salem, Massachusetts, where my husband commented that I looked right at home.
What did he mean by that?
Lastly, the weary travelers ended up at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut….and even more…Lobster!
This took place almost fifty years ago. Think about it. A family vacation without the addition of mobile video, GPS, Nintendo or other electronic devices. The younger children looked out windows, watched for cows and played license plate games. They napped, got fussy, quarreled with each other, consumed endless snacks and asked “are we there yet” a zillion times. The best part was that the adults even had a wonderful time and returned home still speaking to each other.
The even better part was…..all that Lobster along the way, the real “fork” in the roads we traveled.
From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Tell us about a family vacation you took one summer.
I couldn’t resist sharing this old post, once again, probably the third time I’ve done so. At the time I first wrote this, it was a 37 year old memory. Today, it’s a flashback to more than 50 years ago. So much has changed since then. The favorite Aunt and Uncle who rode in our back seat have both passed away. Our family grew with two more children. Road trips became fewer and flying the friendly skies took over but…whenever we land at some destination, there’s always a ride waiting to happen…and, sometimes…Lobster!
