Thursday, November 16, 2006

Ode to Road Trippin'


Okay, okay. This isn't really an 'ode' to road trippin' because in order for it to be an ode, it would have to be a "lyric poem with complex stanza forms". Truth be told, I ran out of neat subject titles.

Anyway, inspired by a recent post from the super cool Dylon from Current Thoughts, I decided to write a little sumthin' on one of my fave things to do. You guessed it....Road Trippin'!!! Of course, now that I'm married and live on a farm and run a little business, we don't have time for many road trips. I will, however, revisit some old memories....

Family road trips were always big with my family. Ma and Pa would pack us into the car and we'd drive and drive and drive. We'd go to New York to visit family most of the time. Then there were the many trips to Florida- Cape San Blas, Orlando, Miami, Cocoa Beach...ahhhh, such is the life. I could never tire of the beach and Disney World has got to be one of my fave places on this planet. We also drove to Virginia Beach just to go camping (Cherry Stone National Park is a cool place- if it's still there! That was ages ago).

I always felt guilty for not seeing more of our own country, so we also went on trips to Algonquin Park, Gatineau, and even as far as New Brunswick...just to go camping. Good times.

I outgrew the family road trip thing when I was in high school/college and ended up making some trips of my own (with friends). Some of the more memorable ones are the ones that were so spontaneous and not planned at all!

1) My friends and I had just gotten our drivers' licences and we thought we were the coolest kids on earth. We decided on the spur of the moment to go for a road trip to Ottawa. Four girls, great tunes, road snacks, and less than $50 between all of us, we went to the nation's capital. To do what? No idea. I remember us all singing "I saw the sign" from Ace of Base (omg, I know!) full blast and every single Red Hot Chili Peppers song we knew. I think there was some drinking at an Ottawa pub, but how we got in, I have no clue. We were all underaged. Crazy things you do when you're young.

2) My friend Fran called me up one evening (we lived in Toronto at the time) and she said, "What are you doing?" "Not much, you?" "Nothing. Hey, pack your bags and I'll pick you up in a few minutes!" "WHAT? Where are we going??" "I don't know. Just pack your bags." "Okay." We ended up driving to Montreal late at night, had breakfast at Chez Cora's and then drove back to Toronto. It was an insane thing to do, but the journey together was fun. I miss Fran. She now lives in Newfoundland and has four kids! She was my Lilith Fair and all things cool buddy.

3) My friend Kelly and I used to drive to Vermont and NY for some cross-border shopping. Yeah, bad girls. I'll never forget the time we took her grandfather's old boat of a vehicle and when we went to fill up on gas, we didn't know where the gas thing was!!! Who would have known it would be behind the licence plate!?!?!?!

4) I also did a road trip to visit friends in the US. I went to Kansas, Missouri, and when I got to Philadelphia to see an old teacher friend of mine( from when we taught in Japan), we (along with a bunch of his friends) took a little trip to ATLANTIC CITY!!!! Now that was fun! Did you know that the streets there are all the same names as the streets in the game Monopoly??? (Boardwalk, Park Place...)

5) There was that bittersweet trip a bunch of us took to New Brunswick for a friend's funeral. It was a crazy road trip, but one of the best ones ever. 13 hrs in a car with some of my very fave people, the soundtracks from the movies Reservoir Dogs and Studio 54 , crazy antics, pit stops in the middle of nowheresville, and eventhough we spoke French, it wasn't the same kind of French people spoke near the border of Quebec and New Brunswick. Once we met up with all the others who took the trip to NB for the funeral, we all shared laughs, love, and memories of a very special person.

6. Oh, who amongst my friends would ever forget the time Hailey and I drove to Sandbanks for a camping trip? We got up super excited, ready to go and hit the open road. We got stuck in traffic and being the geniuses we were, ended up going 8 hrs in the wrong direction!!! What was only supposed to be a two and a half hour drive, took us nearly to the United States! I kept saying that I thought we were going the wrong way, but buddy insisted that we weren't. After much arguing and b*tching, we went for hours driving in silence. We both cracked and started laughing our heads off after, swearing never to tell a soul how challenged we were when it came to directions! We ended up at our campsite at 1AM! Luckily, the guys were working late and told us they'd meet us there early the next morning. Thank goodness they didn't arrive before us, because Hailey and I told them that everything was fine and that when they arrived, the beer would be chilling in the cooler and the tent would be set up. Imagine the two of us girls pitching the tent in complete darkness at 1 in the morning? LOL!

Maybe one day I'll post about world travel. I really feel guilty that I've seen more of the world than I have my own country. Maybe one day I'll be able to go on a cross-Canada trip. Maybe.

In the meantime, I'm aching to read The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road, as recommended by Dylon.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds like fun. I love road trips. Ever thought of doing a cross the nation road trip wher eyou visit as many US states as you can?

Unknown said...

Hi Anon :) I would LOVE to go on a massive road trip and see as many US states as possible. I've visited 20 something states already. I REALLY want to go on a cross-Canada trip though, as I have seen more of the US than I have of my own country. Have you ever road tripped to Canada before?

Anonymous said...

Excellent road trip memories! Spontaneous trips are my absolute favorite kind! I’ll have to dig around in “the stacks”, but I’d be happy to lend you my copy of “The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road” if I can find it!

Unknown said...

Cheers, Dylon! I'll lend you Pillars of the Earth in exchange for Bad Girl's :)

Anonymous said...

Christine,
I remeber your road trip with Hailey as well as our road trip with Dina to Montreal for one Canada day.
ahh the memories

Unknown said...

Hi Danielle! Yes, we had lots of fun memories, eh? Our road trip to Montreal was fun! Ahhhh...memories! Oh, and let's not forget all those camping trips!!!!

How's your blog coming along? :)

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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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