Getting out of Town

This weekend my daughter and I will take a short trip. Up to Madison, Wisconsin, visit with my eldest granddaughter, have lunch and poke around town a bit, and then off to Viroqua, WI. Daughter Liz grew up with this fellow who is now married and living in Viroqua. Should be fun to rekindle so many memories. I know Bob as well, and worked for several years with his dad in SCORE. The trip will continue Sunday morning with a short trip to the Mississippi River. We will travel the eastern shoreline down to Galena, Illinois. The scenery should be spectacular and the driving fun. Once in Galena we will head home angling east southeast toward home. Should arrive there well before supper.

We will drive this trip in my 2008 Toyota Prius. Anxious to see how it does and the mileage it gets. Around town I get 44 miles to the gallon. I expect more on the trip. The car has 101,000miles on it but it works flawlessly. Everything on it works very well. Owning an old car with high mileage is OK. I’ve learned this several times as I bought car models I loved, like an old Chrysler 300 convertible, an old Mustang GT convertible, and so forth. One old Mercedes, too you may recall. All of these cars worked beautifully and gave me much pleasure. Old doesn’t mean it doesn’t work or won’t. This trip I expect will prove the same thing for the Prius.

The real point of the trip is twofold. First, to get out of the house, or out of Dodge, or both! I’ve been stuck mainly at home during COVID, then through Rocky’s illness and death. Now it is mobility and health reasons, but my brain pulls me to get out and about. Second, is to hit the road, drive the open road and be free. This has always been a fancy of mine and I have done it many times. Countless time to the southwestern deserts. Canyons, mountains, family and lots of open road. It feeds my fancy. It makes me an explorer of the unknown. I meet hundreds of strangers. I see, feel and smell places that are not home. So many things to feed my spirit, my interests.

As reported, the open road has been a part of me throughout my life. As a kid, our family traveled extensively each summer throughout the western states. We lived in southern California and explored everything from the west coast to the Mississippi River. We missed Montana and North Dakota somehow, but the rest of the states we explored thoroughly. All of them. From mountain tops to desert lows and Death Valley. From ocean coasts to raging mountain rivers. Mountain camping and hiking, too, we experienced the up-close reality of where we traveled. Later years we took our kids on family trips throughout the east and New England. Career years provided ample car travel through the southeast. In late career my travels were focused on the midwestern states, and all by car.

A lot of road time. A lot of smelling, feeling and seeing the up-close places of life. All good. All exciting for me. This weekend offers a tiny reintroduction of those experiences. Let’s see what it will become.

November 15, 2024

 

 

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