Yeeeee! Haaaa! ... On the Road Again


It always pays to start a long trip with a little road music. Willie is the best choice I can come up with.

I'm reminded of when I was 16 years old.

Up to that point most of my life had been spent growing up in Hurst, Texas, pretty much smack-dab between Dallas and Ft. Worth. San Diego, where I was born, was just those few glimpses of childhood we remember from before age 5.

We were leaving Hurst to move to Phoenix where my dad was starting a new job as an engineer for Motorola. I had my learners permit, and was salivating to drive. Both cars loaded. My dad in the 1963 Plymouth station wagon with the two big dogs, and my mom and me driving the 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.

She reached over and turned on the radio and the first song that came out was Glenn Campbell singing "By the Time I get to Phoenix."

Karma. Bigly. Road Karma.

So Vickie and I start off again on another adventure.

Who knows for sure what we'll find. In several places we will be traveling the older state and US highways. There will be plenty of Interstate to be sure, but I hope we'll see some interesting things elsewhere.

It was a change when we turned in the 2011 Leaf when the lease ran out. A very nice car, but the range of about 65 miles was just too short. Besides, we were retiring and we talked about cross country trips. For something like that comfort became a key, so we bought the Acura MDX which is a highway beast to be sure.

The plan is to head up the highway to Mt. Jefferson and Santiam Pass towards Bend.   Passing by the Metolius River and not stopping to camp for  a week will break the car's heart.

The day after we got the Acura it was stuffed to the gills with our camping gear. Barely fit. And the grand kids who would be meeting us there had no idea we had a new car.

Cale, the youngest and a massive Star Wars fan, took one look and said "It looks like a Storm Trooper."

Storm Trooper is loaded (no camping gear this time) and ready for bear. I figure probably close to 10,000 miles until we get home.

Sing it again, Willie....

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