-John Steinbeck
Whatever my purpose is for taking road trips, I'm always glad I went.
The reason for this particular trip was to see family and spend Thanksgiving with friends.
I drove to Utah, flew to Omaha, spent a much needed week with a dear friend, flew back to Utah and spent a few days seeing friends and spending time with my grandma, and then drove back to California. And true to Steinbeck's words, I have much to tell. Maybe too much. One story ends with me heaving on the side of the road from carsickness. Another with scrubbing the rest stop bathroom off my hands.
I think the one worth remembering is locking my keys in the car with the engine running and paying a small fortune to get it unlocked. I wanted to warm up my car while I loaded in my suitcase and snacks and things. I shut the passenger door, ready to walk around to the drivers side to get in--and the millisecond before the door shut I realized both doors were locked. I just stood there silently, with my hands frozen in midair. I laughed. I swore a lot. I tried a wire hanger supplied by by kind friends and when I remembered I failed Thug 101, I called a 24 hour locksmith.
4:30 in the morning and I was on hold while I listened to a muffled Jingle Bell Rock playing through my radio.
Forty minutes later, the guy showed up and had it open in a flash.
The whole day I was so paranoid I was going to lock my keys in the car again.
I'm considering taping a set to my person at all times.
Despite the hiccups of the road trip, I was grateful to be able to spend time with my grandma. We ate at a drive-in where she and my grandpa used to go for lunch, and we went and got chocolates.
Orange Creme.
They were delicious.
Today I'm back in my own bed, using my own bathroom, doing my laundry and stretching my sore body. Driving all day (especially with minimal stops to outrun a winter storm) takes a lot out of a person.
In Travels with Charley, Steinbeck says,
It takes strength and control and attention...Consider then the small, unnoticed turning of the steering wheel, perhaps the exertion of only one pound for each motion, the varying pressure of foot on accelerator, not more than half a pound perhaps but an enormous total over a period of six hours. Then there are the muscles of the shouders and neck, constantly if unconsciously flexed for emergency, the eyes darting from road to rear-view mirror, the thousand decisions so deep that the conscious mind is not aware of them. The output of energy, nervous and muscular, is enormous.So excuse me while sprawl out on the floor and take a nap.
Real life can start again tomorrow...when I start planning my next road trip.
