Sunday Drive

When I was growing up in Ohio, almost every Sunday for a number of years, my dad would load up the family and we'd go for a Sunday drive. At the time gas was fairly cheap- less than thirty cents a gallon. I remember my grandmother once pulled into a Sohio filling station and when she saw that gas was going to cost almost twenty five cents a gallon, she sped off in a huff. She'd pass a blue brick if she saw gas prices now. I paid $5.09 a gallon last week. Anyway, as I was saying, we went on quite a few Sunday drives. The most memorable would be to places like Mohican State Park near Mansfield, or Kingwood Center to look at the acres of flowers. When I was younger I kind of liked the short jaunts, as long as we were able to stop and look around. Without fail though I would have to pee about ten minutes after I stepped into the car. It didn't matter that I went before we ever left the house. I would stand over the toilet almost breaking out in a sweat trying to squeeze every last drop out before we left. I was always a bit of a nervous kid, and my dad had no patience at all. He could drive for hours without stopping and any mention of pulling over before we reached our destination was met with an angry outburst. He was like a camel in reverse. Instead of going days not needing a drink, he could go for hours not needing to urinate. As a result I spent most Sundays in the back seat counting off the miles until we got to wherever we were going and once there, charging for the nearest outhouse, restroom or tree to find relief. Ahh, good times. One nice thing about dad's lack of patience is that it extended to everyone. He liked driving fast and would frequently pass other vehicles at sometimes scary speeds, cursing them for being Sunday drivers. I spent many weekend excursions dividing my time between praying for a place to stop and pee and praying we wouldn't end up in a tangled, bloody mess along side the road. Fortunately, God always answered my prayers. Had He not there would have been a mess to clean up one way or the other. Last Sunday I took Jan and my oldest daughter Jen and her daughter Kaylahni on a Sunday drive. It was such a beautiful fall day that none of us wanted to stay inside. When the sun shines around here this time of year you have to take advantage of it. We drove out to Whitestone Harbor. Its only about fifteen miles away but the gravel road is rough and there are lots of hills and blind curves, so it usually takes the better part of an hour to get there. Unfortunately Jen and a few of the other kids have inherited a peanut sized bladder from me. Without fail we have to stop at least once going and coming on every trip we make. Whether its the bouncing from the gravel road and pot holes or just genetics, we always end up pulling in to one of the turn outs to make a pit stop. Fortunately tissue paper breaks down quickly or the roadside would look like a cotton field. When we first left town I mentioned that Ears Mountain didn't have any termination dust yet- that first light dusting of snow that powders the peaks like confectioners sugar on a plate of brownies. On our way back a small front blew through. When the clouds cleared I mentioned that Ears finally had that first light snowfall. From the back seat Jen says "When did that happen?" Jan and I just looked at each other and started laughing. For some reason she had a hard time believing that it could have snowed in the time it took us  to drive to Whitestone Harbor and back. So next time you're out for a Sunday drive,check the gas tank, make sure everyone uses the potty before you leave, take  time to enjoy the scenery, stop when you need to and most of all,  have fun with your family.

Comments

  1. Great pictures dad, the first one in my favorite. I think I took the same picture when I was there. I would like to blow it up and frame it and put it on the wall w/our other Alaska pictures. Leave it to Jen to say something like that so funny :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Camille- you know Jen. I think the thing that makes it so funny is that she's always so serious. The time I told her that Serpentine jewelry we bought her was petrified snake crap, she just looked at me and nodded and said "Oh really? How interesting!" She's always entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think you could wright a book just on some of the things that comes out of her mouth, did she find the custard pie that you made last night?

    ReplyDelete
  4. haha..here it is after 1 at night and I hafta be up by 630 and I'm reading back through your posts and just busting a gut...I can sooo see Jen saying things like that..ugh...she just busts me up...sooo book smart..but sooooooooo easy to mess with..I always got the biggest kick when all us kids were together for the holidays..when we'd say."oh..here comes Jen....everyone start laughing." and we'd all start laughing...and here'd come Jen bee-boppin in...and she'd be like.."what..what's so funny...?" and she'd start laughing which would make us all laugh even harder...and she'd never even figure out what it was we were laughin about...man I miss bein around the famiily and just my best friends....want to get up there some time soon...miss everyone so much....keep the posts goin...they're such a bright spot in so many people's lives...love ya!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Sick Pack

Clear but Cold

The End of an Era