On The Road With Dad

I love to travel to interesting and exotic places. I love it even more when someone else is paying for it. If you like that idea, too, give this post a like and share with someone else.  

When I was a kid, we didn’t take exotic trips to anywhere. My dad was a part-time farmer and full-time electrical contractor, and very busy. Our trips were taken in the family  

A few trips were predictable. After my parents bought a cabin on Lake Texhoma, we made annual trips there, so my dad could get away from phone for a few days and fish his heart out. Before that, we camped out. I haven’t felt the urge to camp out since. 

The other trip we made frequently was to a town called Sulphur, which lived up to its name. I still remember the distinctive odor of sulphur as we approached the town. Fortunately, noses adapt quickly and the smell lessens. The first ritual was to drive from the water fountain. We expected it to taste awful, but the water didn’t taste like sulphur; it was delicious and cold. We loved the swimming pool and spent hours there. 

Dad was famous for his fast driving and his shortcuts. He rarely got a speeding ticket; my mother said it was because he flew too low for the radar to spot him.  

When the car was packed a longer road trip and everyone (my dad, mom and four girls) was in the car, we headed out. Once on the road, my dad would pull out a big, smelly cigar and light up. Immediately, all the windows were rolled down, and we registered our disgust with coughing and gagging at the smell. Dad just smiled and kept driving. Cars were not airconditioned back then. 

On one trip, we stopped at a motel, and Dad went in to get rooms. Apparently, the owner had asked about our family, because he came out to the car, took a look at us and proclaimed, “This isn’t a family. It’s a harem!” We all laughed. 

One shortcut that I have remembered all these years was a trip through part of Arkansas. We had driven through the Ozark Mountains in eastern Oklahoma into Arkansas, and at one point, Dad decided to take a shortcut, I suppose, to see the countryside . As we were driving the very twisty and narrow road (not highway), we spotted a small wood cabin with a old man sitting on the porch in a rocker with a shotgun across his lap (just like the hillbilly cartoons we had seen). Needless to say, we just kept driving. 

Years later when my younger sister was starting her freshman year at Oberlin, the whole family drove her to Ohio. By now we girls were old enough to take turns driving. At one point, a car behind us with a couple of young men kept turning on the turn -signals and making gestures. At first we thought they were flirting. But no, we finally noticed that our driver had forgotten to turn the turn signal off after we pulled over into that lane, and the young men were just trying to let us know. Much laughing ensued. 

Since then, I’ve traveled to Europe several times and even to Bolivia. I have a long list of places yet to visit.  The one I am focusing on now is Costa Rica and the process of qualifying for a free trip with some other people. I want to help other people make that trip, too and looking for travel companions who are willing to put in some  effort to earn the same trip.  

If you’re ready to travel and would like to learn more, go to my Facebook page, like my page and put a note with a way to reach you in the chat box that pops up. 

I’d love to hear your favorite travel memories. Just Like and Comment below. 

All aboard! 

Gloria