THE SUMMER OF U.S.

Published by Marylyn on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021

A PERSPECTIVE FROM OUR FAMILY’S CROSS COUNTRY TRIP IN THE SUMMER OF 2006

Fifteen years ago, I sat in this exact spot, pouring over final details for our upcoming summer cross country trip. It seems like yesterday, except that now, my house is too quiet. Our four sons are out there in the world, leaving behind their tired parents and their beloved dog. In 2006, our family of six took a two month summer road trip across the U.S. in an RV. It was well planned, and while initially met with resistance and skepticism within and outside of the “ranks”, it was the greatest endeavor of my life. Most importantly, it will always be remembered as the best of times.

I journaled each day, so that I would never forget the small details that would keep the story alive as the years passed. Over these past 15 years, I have occasionally been asked by my sons to read a passage, and it never gets old. It was our fairy tale, and the lessons we learned that summer were more important than most derived from the Grimm Brothers. So, I will share with you my first passage that describes my feelings on the night before we set out.

June 14, 2006:

“I ‘ve been queazy for days with the realization that our departure date was imminent. We have been planning for about a year, although we still feel somehow unprepared. It is like clockwork on paper, yet the reality of the trip will reveal just how prepared we are. Tom is unaffected, as usual. His joie de vivre attitude is reassuring. The boys, who have expressed a vast scale of reluctance to this trek, seemed to concede, especially when the 30 foot RV arrived in our driveway yesterday. The novelty of this compact, yet cool living quarters should carry us at least to Texas……

After hours of packing up the seemingly endless supply of supplies, and entertaining some last minute well wishers, we all went to bed. Dreaming of adventures and misadventures unknown.”

SO THAT WAS THE BEGINNING.

During that Summer of US ( hope you noticed the play on words), we traveled from New Jersey, on a southern route across the continent to California….up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco, and then back across on a northern route. Along the way, we visited twelve national parks, met wonderful people from all over the world, and opened our children’s eyes to the beauty of their country and its varied citizens.

Here we are, 15 years later, in a period of time where international travel has become almost impossible. What better time to take advantage of seeing our own country? In the next couple of months, I will be publishing some excerpts from my journal on some of the destinations we experienced during the summer of 2006. I will offer some insight into each as well, and some brief tips that will hopefully inspire my readers to get out on the road and discover the US.

And as our family discovered, as important as it is to plan….some of the most lingering memories were when we found ourselves unprepared, surprised in the moment. This is when you truly learn about the place and its people. Our sons, who were reluctant to leave that June, will often tell us that this was the greatest gift we have given them as parents. We will always have that time in our back pocket, and more importantly, in our hearts.

ME and MY “POSSE”