Road Trip!

2nd blahg for #bloganuary (a WordPress event)

The Prompt: What is a road trip you would love to take?

I love a good road trip. My first real road trip (and I will explain what I mean by ‘real’ in a moment*) was in the summer of ‘95 and I previously wrote about it in my collection of shorts, Monty’s Very Short Shorts.

*for me a real road trip is when I’m in the driver seat, so I don’t count the car trips as a kid. There is a completely different feeling when driving vs. just along for the ride in the back seat.

Some day I would like to write a more detailed account of that trip. There were some really “interesting experiences”. I kept a journal during the trip but it disappeared at some point over the years. I keep hoping it will pop up. Anyway, thought I would share this again since it’s topical. Let’s get back to the question at hand. What is my dream (future) road trip?

Road Trip Idea #1: New Zealand CC

A New Zealand cross-country trip. I’ve heard New Zealand has some of the most beautiful landscapes and I’ve yet to visit. If I ever can, I definitely want to build in a road trip if possible. I’d choose any willing companion for this one or even do it on my own. I just want to do it!

Road Trip Idea #2: Ireland & England Discovery Tour

For Ireland and England I would like to do a discovery tour. I did this once with the kids and we had a blast. The way it works is that you set the starting/end point but leave the route completely open. With the discovery tour I did when the kids were young we started/ended at home, but the key was the kids had full say in where we went. I just asked them to give me a general direction to start and handed them an iPad for them to set navigation points. We ended up touring through upstate NY, Montreal, and Vermont. The kids loved having control and I loved not having to make any decisions. I think this would be an amazing way to Explore Ireland and England and I would adore the chance to do this with my now grown-up kids.

Road Trip Idea #3: American “Rediscovery“ Tour

If I ever have grandkids this is my dream to recreate the magic of the discovery tour I did with my kids. It would probably be based on wherever they are living (I assume US for this hypothetical). My preference would probably be the American Southwest which I have only lightly explored as yet. The Pacific Northwest (US and Canada) would also be amazing. Given the adventuresome nature of the discovery tour approach, kids are definitely the best companions. But if no grandkids, then I think my moms would be an excellent partner for this one. I think she has the curious nature needed and we’d have fun sharing memories from our car trips from back in the day.

Road Trip Idea #4: American ”Reverse” CC

Since I grew up in the Northeast, the right way to do a cross-country road trip is from East to West. As I mentioned earlier, I‘ve done this trip (although my route was quite circuitous vs. the norm). A ”reverse” cross-country trip is West to East (I just made this up, but it feels logical). This scenario is not just a hypothetical plan, as my son and I have already talked about it. He’s in school in Los Angelas and if he gets into law school in the Northeast as he hopes, then it calls for a father-son road trip. As we’ve discussed it will be a pretty efficient designed ‘southerly‘ route with strategically chosen stops to sample the regional varieties of bbq (and hot chicken in Memphis) along the way.

Road Trip Idea #5: Westward-Ho China CC

This is a early in retirement idea as it would be quite extensive and time consuming. I’ve had very little chance to explore China despite having lived here for over a decade and I would like to change that someday.  I’ve no idea how driving in China would be outside of my home area in Shanghai, but why not find out?The idea here would be to drive west from Shanghai as far as we can get (ideally to Tibet if the political situation allows). My better half would be my partner on this one. I don’t think anyone else would be willing to spend so much time with me. It’s a perfect plan.

———

So which will it be? They all sound amazing so I’m going to cheat and say all of them. Why not? I’ll make sure to share my road trip adventures with you.

Be well,

Monty

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