Ode to the Summer Roadtrip
View from our summer anniversary trip at the top of a little hill that we climbed in the town we honeymooned in 7 years ago, just a little drive
Ode to the Summer Road trip
If 2020 has revived anything (besides the baking of sourdough bread, spending more time at home, and for some of us spending the majority of our day outdoors), it has revived an appreciation of the small things. Visits with friends, birthday parties, bbq’s, travel, wandering the bookstore, sitting in the coffee shop… I’m sure this list could go on and on of things we miss or wish we hadn’t taken for granted. This summer became the summer of the road trip and “staycation” or “statecation” as some are calling it, with everyone social distancing, staying within their state, and trying to avoid crowded areas. And with all of this, I feel the summer road trip in so many ways saved us, saved me.
Saved me in the sense of maintaining a sense of wonder and gratitude when I felt confined within the four walls of my home. A home is so much to be grateful for, but months on end in 700 sqft with four people can prove trying, as it has for many adults, parents, and families the world over since early this spring.
Wading into a river with my husband to celebrate 7 years of marriage as high school sweethearts! Embracing being young and childlike.. isn’t that what summer is for?
Is there anything like the expanse of the blue sky? Endless trees, fields, and green stretching out on either side. There is something romantic about the summer trip. The freedom that the summer traditionally represents for kids and college students and teachers. The freedom of the open road and no time limits, or schedule, your time is your own. Staying closer to home and embracing the road trip seems to be the safest option for any type of travel lately. Adventure still awaits.
The lure of listening to a favorite podcast and curating your own road trip playlist. Rediscovering favorites songs from high school days, or new songs as you shuffle a playlist. The personal space to sit alone with your thoughts away from the constant distractions of work and daily maintenance of home. And sometimes the best moments of the road trip are the unexpected stops and detours you make. The out of the way family farms and produce stands. Is there anything like a peach or berries that are in season? Or stopping to get a better look at roadside flowers. A road trip almost seems like an iconic rite of passage in some places. The thing many graduating high schoolers or college graduates take. Except I got married young, started my family young, took a full-time job and so forth. So, in some ways the summer road trip is a recovery and a taste of the youth I didn’t have. Maybe for others it’s the youth they did have and now every road trip serves as a reminder of the young curious soul they still have.
Local in season peaches ready for baking
Moments I’m grateful to have had on a few local road trips this summer; wading into a river and skipping stones with my husband, stopping for fresh churned ice cream from a family farm store, bringing home in season peaches from a side of the road produce stand. Of course, every adventure comes with its own misadventure- one of your children gets motion sick in the back seat, you lost a pair of shoes at the cabin you stayed at, take a wrong turn, etc. Even so, I have no regrets. Travel is a gift I have always felt provides the opportunity to be more present.
So, go load your sanitizer and PPE into the car along with your favorite snacks, download a podcast or favorite playlist, bring some spontaneity and flexibility, drive a few hours in any direction or pick an off-road low key destination, the open road is waiting. Summer might be over and the season of pumpkin spice, crunchy leaves, and sweaters is upon us. But we don’t have to give up our child-like sense of wonder, joy, and exploration- even in the year of 2020.
