Growing up we counted cows on our road trips. There were just a few basic rules. You could count no more than 10 at one time in any one area (there were debates on fences and if neighboring pastures could be counted as one.) If you passed a cemetery you had to “bury” all your cows and start over at zero in your counting. If you got exactly 100 you had to go back to zero - oh, wait. I think that was a card game. So, everyone in the car would get divided into two teams. Those on the right side and those on the left. Sometimes the driver (my dad) would say they get all the cows in the middle of the road. Ha ha.
We played this game endlessly on road trips. We would drive to Chicago to see my Grandma Bell. We would drive to Hawkins, WI to see my Aunt Bea. We would travel up to Grindstone Lake where my dad would go scuba diving. We never took really long car trips when I was younger - like going out west to see the Grand Canyon or down to Florida to go to Disney World. But whereever the car would lead us the time in the car was generally spent doing something together. Playing the alphabet game, the liscense plat game or counting cows. Something that kept us engaged in what was outside the car.
I tended to get car sick. I remember once reading a book in the car - knowing that it could make me sick. We stopped at a wayside rest in Wisconsin - there is this really cool rock formation along I-94 located near Camp Douglas. It’s called Castle Rock Wayside. I always loved to stop there. Every time I drive by there (which I do at least 4 times a year) I want to stop. But I never do. So - back to the story. We stopped and I had been reading in the car. My parents told me I should get out of the car. I was probably about 4th grade or so. Whatever I was reading I was so engrossed in my story that I refused to get out of the car and take a break. Needless to say, once we were back on the road, I of course got sick. See, parents do know best.
Now, people in cars are on their cell phones, watching movies, listening to music or podcasts with their headphones on. Driving on the Interstates there is not as much to see as there was taking the backroads and smaller highways. Our intent is the end destination - and how quickly we can get there. I miss when the focus also included the actual journey. Stopping if you saw something interesting. Detouring off the main road to find some crazy roadside attraction. Sometimes it is just easier now to take a trip by myself, so I can stop when I want. But what fun is that? The fun comes in sharing the memories with others, with family and friends.
Want to go on a road trip? Give me a call. Let’s plan our adventure.