Help Plan Meemaw’s NEXT BIG ROAD TRIP!

OK Dear Readers…Peepaw and I are about to set off on our NEXT BIG ROAD TRIP ADVENTURE…and I would LOVE to hear from you before we go! If you know of restaurants or scenic spots we just have to include along our route on this trip…please let me know.

I was bitten by the travel bug at an early age since my parents took my brother and me on many long car trips. And keep this in mind…I grew up in the 1950’s. Before freeways. Before Interstate highways. And before air conditioning in cars! (Yes, I’m officially admitting it. I’m OLD!)

Our family loved to travel…and I now, after raising two sons of our own, I realize that my parents had the patience of saints to pile my brother and me into a hot car and set out for Colorado or California on two lane roads. But my dad DID have his limits. And one moment stands out in my mind to this very day.

I was probably four or five years old, and we had packed our car to head west to California. I remember crawling into the back seat with my brother and we began our 2,000 mile journey.

After we had driven about half a mile from our Iowa farm I remember I stood up (no seat belts yet) and leaned over the front seat…and  I shouted “Are we there yet?”

I can still feel the car lurching to a dead stop on the side of the road. Dad turned off the ignition…and there we sat for what seemed like forever to a four year old. And I can still remember the expression on Dad’s face as he looked at my mother in the passenger seat. I guess he was looking to Mom for guidance…or more likely for restraint!

Yup…Dear old Dad. He eventually started the car and we continued our trip. But no matter how long our travel day had been (our how much squabbling was happening in the back seat) Dad was always willing to stop along the way to let us explore our surroundings, even if it messed up our schedule. (Yes..that’s brother Tommy and me on top of a rock…somewhere in Colorado, I’m guessing.)

Now…fast-forward about 60 years…and Peepaw and I are heading West again! We’re headed back to the vineyards and tasting rooms in and around McMinneville, Oregon. We’ve also arranged our road trip to include McMinneville’s annual “Dragging The Gut” Festival. (More about that later!)

We’re making one deviation from this map since we’re making a loop from Boise to McCall, Idaho before heading on to wine country.

So now it’s YOUR turn. If you know of an awesome diner or a must-see sight along our road trip route…leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you.

And I promise Peepaw I will never utter those dreaded words, “Are we there yet?” 

Because wherever we are these days…It’s exactly where I want to be.