Roadtrippin’

Quick housekeeping: I know that I typically updated Tuesdays and Thursdays, but in case you have not noticed things have been a little crazy, life-wise, since mom passed. As such, blog updates will come and go for the time being. If you want something regular each week, may I suggest subscribing to my Patreon? Anyhoo…

The first time I went on a road trip I was about 8 years old and we were traveling to Detroit to visit my grandmother’s cousin Margaret. It was a wonderful time, and was also my first experience with taking a vacation of any sort. I have traveled to many other places since, but I remember that first road trip well, from the Slim Jims my dad bought at the store for snacking to the underwater tunnel we drove through.

One time, somewhere in my twenties, my friend Molly picked me up in the middle of the night and we drove to New York City to buy a t-shirt…true story. That was a great road trip as well. I had other good ones with my family, and other good ones with friends, and a fantastic one last year with Sahar and Chelsea. I love a good road trip.

But today? Oh, today! Today I will embark on my first solo adventure. I am driving myself from Buffalo to Cleveland, so I can visit Sahar before her birthday. It is a straight shot on the 90 from here to there, and she only lives a few miles away from the exit, so the drive is an easy one- still, I am excited. I will drive through three states, all along Lake Erie- my favorite of all the lakes. I will get to listen to my music the whole way, without sharing the radio with anyone, and I can stop to pee at any exit I please. There is a lovely little freedom in the few hours it will take me to travel.

We are making plans for our weekend, and so far, it sounds like it will be a blast. I am hopeful I will have stories to tell when I return- I know I will, but this writer’s block-ish situation is really getting under my skin. But then, perhaps I just need a few days away to recharge. So, I shall enjoy my little vacation, and bid you all a lovely weekend. Happy Thursday!

Open Roads

Today I went with my mother to teach my sister how to parallel park.  She has her road test coming up, and is doing way better than me because I literally learned the maneuver the night before the test.  I have done it maybe twice since, both times while downtown and unable to pay for parking.  I hate it so much though that I will happily pay 15 bucks at the parking ramp to avoid it.  When I took my test, at the ripe old age of 26, I lost points for excessive maneuvers during my parallel park.  Otherwise I did pretty good.

Bernie is 22 and most of her friends have been driving for a while, as mine had at that age.  I often felt bad that they had to cart me around places, and vowed that I would return the favor someday.  Unfortunately, most of my friends scattered themselves to the wind before I got the chance.  My problem with driving was poor hand-eye-foot coordination.  I would approach a stop light and have to tell my left foot to pump the brake.  It was an anxiety thing and essentially something I had to rewire in my brain.   Eventually, I got the hang of it, and became comfortable driving.  Bern is very comfortable with driving, which, if she doesn’t pass the test, will be the reason why.

I think you have to go in there with a certain amount of nervousness, to keep you on your toes.  My test giver laughed when I said I was nervous, and told me there was no reason to be.  Um, excuse me, but I’m a bad test taker from way back, and here we are about to take one in a ton of moving metal?  No, thank you.

I passed though, which I was grateful for.  Afterwards I drove out to Kevin’s to tell him the good news, and bought myself an iced coffee at Tim Hortons.  Later my family and I went to rent a movie, and the car died in the parking lot.  It took one look at my license and bailed.

I wrote previously about my cars, so I won’t mention them here.  This is about driving.  Driving gave me a freedom I didn’t know was possible.  Suddenly I was driving myself to work, not having to wake dad up early to take me.  I could stay at rehearsal late and not have to worry about him waiting out in the parking lot.  I could go see my friends whenever I wanted.  I could explore the world on my own.

If I could go back in time, I suppose I would have tried to get my license earlier, but at the same time I’m glad I waited until I was ready instead of panicking my way through it because I wanted to celebrate the milestone the same time as my friends.  In the end I found that I loved driving more than I expected.  Sometimes to me driving is like painting a picture, or composing a song.  I can’t really explain it.  I’m just glad I got over my fears and got behind the wheel.  I am hopeful that Bern will ace her test, and join the world of the driving.  Next up, getting my husband behind the wheel.  Now, that will be a task.

Photo by Taras Makarenko on Pexels.com