Wanderlust

I've been watching two of my favorite bloggers travel this month. There's Bossy and her excellent road trip and The Yarn Harlot (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) on her book tour. I've enjoyed the ups and downs and seeing both of them persevere in the face of what must be crushing exhaustion.

All this travelling has made me think fondly back to road trips of my past. For several years, in the earliest part of our marriage, Lefty and I would drive from Ithaca, NY to Port St. Joe, Florida for Christmas and Spring Break. We'd drive for 21 hours straight and arrive exhausted but happy to be in the green green south with the gulf of mexico to keep us company. It was always winter in Ithaca when we left. One year we returned home after the grueling drive back, which always seemed to be longer and harder than the drive south, to find our driveway buried in about three feet of snow. That's the time that I famously sat down in the frozen driveway and cried and cried and cried.

We don't travel as much as we used to. The advent of The Kid slowed us up for awhile. Lefty's mom has passed away and the thought of making a trip to Florida and not seeing her when we arrive makes me too sad. We had a lovely vacation last year – our first real summer vacation that did not involve either visiting relatives or moving. This year we're planning a tour of some smaller Texas Hill Country towns – staying closer to home because of the oh-my-good-lord-in-heaven gas prices. We're attending a family reunion outside of Ft. Worth in June.

It's no book tour or grand promenade across the country, but I'm looking forward to shaking off all the everyday trappings and setting off on the hot highway with a car full of snacks, maps and video games.