Ahhh, the open road...

I don't know how mom and dad managed to haul a bunch of kids across the country (or state) year after year. It must have been stressful and difficult, but we wouldn't have known it (except, perhaps, for dad's bad mood that would creep up when it was time to leave - yikes!). We went to Tijuana where I smelled people and places that smelled like urine for the first time. I remember feeling sorry for them and buying chiclets from the children (who were very persistent). We went to Las Vegas where I was wowed by an actual place called Circus Circus! It sounded like heaven and smelled like cigarettes. We went to Nauvoo - barely, because Shamu struggled. I got introduced to KOAs, which I loved, on that trip. We went to Sea World, visited Aunt Charlene, and other distant relatives, Disneland, and so many places, but this entry is more about the journey...

I remember packing up my backpack with essentials, and helping bring things to the car. At first we were in Linus, the blue station wagon. Later on, we would switch to Shamu, the giant SUV. It was then that we used a car top carrier, the front of which was always disgustingly covered with dead bugs from the drive. Dad would swing one of us up onto the car so that could unlatch the carrier, and help pack everyone's stuff inside. This was often done at very early hours of the morning so that we could make good time on the drive.

Mom and dad kept things interesting in the car. One of my favorite things was getting into the car and looking inside my "pocket". This was an ingenious invention of moms that was made of a bath towel. She sewed large pockets onto the towel and hung from the backs of the rows of seats in the car. Each child had their name on a pocket (this not only said which pocket was yours, but also helped us not fight over where to sit - you just sat in front of your pocket). The pockets were filled with treats, snacks, and fun things to do (notepads, little travel games, stickers, etc.) They were often restocked along the way, too! They provided hours of fun.

There was also the lottery-type game where mom and dad would write numbers that were assigned to each child on the wheel of the car, and whenever we stopped, who ever's name was on top got a candy bar. Can you believe that mom and dad were teaching us to gamble!? Also, when we had to stop at a gas station, dad would usually spring for everyone to pick out one treat. Heaven.

While we were driving we would often listen to a book (either read by mom, or on tape). When that wasn't happening, we were painfully (then) flooded with the old fashion sounds of John Denver and the like (Neil Diamond, etc.). It was brutal! We whined and complained and teased our parents about their poor taste in music. Things got rough when we started playing games like "slug bug". We would inevitably end up with a dead arm because Wade had a way of changing the rules in his favor, plus, he hit a lot harder than any of us.

There were also many hours spent sleeping. Mom would sleep in the passenger seat with mouth hanging open. Dad would dose while driving, and who ever sat behind him had to massage his neck or pull his hair...anything to keep his eyes open. Others in the car would cram jackets against doors, or just sleep on the shoulder of the person next to them. Back in the day (before seatbelts were mandated by law), we would actually make little beds on the floors of the car with a pillow and a blanket. It was never incredible comfortable, but it worked. There was something magical about being cramped in a car with the anticipation of a cool destination in mind.