The first big trip I took was in 1972 . It was a cross country trip by car with a new Dodge Van and our whole family; my wife and I and three boys, ages 3, 6 and 9. It was a giant adventure!
We left from Baltimore and traveled north to Niagara Falls, into Canada and across into British Columbia. In BC we turned south and went into Idaho (I think) and over to the coast. I know we were in Seattle and went south. We visited San Francisco and continued south toward LA but veered off into the desert, past Barstow through the Mohave and visited lots of the southwest. We went up to Denver and then east to home again. It took close to a month. We had some stays with friends and some motels (3 I think) and the rest was tent camping. The entire event cost $900! Remember the good old days!
This is the prelude to the second big trip, 1982.
My marriage was falling apart and it was a matter of time how long it would last. I wanted to do something and I knew my wife would not want to go anywhere with me. I thought about my happiest family time and knew it was the first big trip of ten years before. So, wanting, I guess, to recapture that time, I decided to go on the same trip again, if anyone was willing to go with me.
Two sons said no as they had summer jobs or just didn’t want to go, but son number 3, a mere 13 years old, was a willing participant in this venture.
My wife exchanged cars with me so I would have the benefit of a larger vehicle, albeit a Chevrolet X car, but with four cylinders and a stick shift, it would work well. I left her my RX-7 which would never have worked for this trip.
We were leaving from Michigan, the only difference in the road chosen, and went up through Michigan into the Sault. We went into Canada and turned left. We were on our way.
We were two wild and crazy guys, as much as a 13 year old and his 40 year old father could be. I had not figured on the fact I was the only driver which can make for some tiring days. We did bout eight hours a day driving, and had routines for stopping, putting up the tent, eating and taking it down in the morning with some kind of breakfast early, we had our real breakfast at some McDonalds or Tim Horton’s or somewhere about 10:00 a.m.
We never met a single Mom with a 13 year old daughter camping, so our interactions were few with humans. However, we had a great time.
We stayed with Barry Glickman in San Francisco as we had on our first big trip, and many times after that. We stayed with Nancy Rosnow in Santa Fe, and even went to a party at Los Alamos where several of her friends swore they glowed after dark.
We had a great time and were gone several weeks, covering pretty much the same route we had before.
We may have seen Joel Cohen in Denver but I’m not sure. I’ll ask him.
It was a rare opportunity for me (and I hope for my son Josh) to have an experience together. We saw lots of stuff! We laughed a lot! We enjoyed each others company. There were no problems that I can remember in hindsight.
I look at those carefree days as one of the best experiences of my life. I would go again but no one will go with me today. My family and I have incredible camping experiences together, but more in the disaster area than the bucolic.
But that’s another story…
We left from Baltimore and traveled north to Niagara Falls, into Canada and across into British Columbia. In BC we turned south and went into Idaho (I think) and over to the coast. I know we were in Seattle and went south. We visited San Francisco and continued south toward LA but veered off into the desert, past Barstow through the Mohave and visited lots of the southwest. We went up to Denver and then east to home again. It took close to a month. We had some stays with friends and some motels (3 I think) and the rest was tent camping. The entire event cost $900! Remember the good old days!
This is the prelude to the second big trip, 1982.
My marriage was falling apart and it was a matter of time how long it would last. I wanted to do something and I knew my wife would not want to go anywhere with me. I thought about my happiest family time and knew it was the first big trip of ten years before. So, wanting, I guess, to recapture that time, I decided to go on the same trip again, if anyone was willing to go with me.
Two sons said no as they had summer jobs or just didn’t want to go, but son number 3, a mere 13 years old, was a willing participant in this venture.
My wife exchanged cars with me so I would have the benefit of a larger vehicle, albeit a Chevrolet X car, but with four cylinders and a stick shift, it would work well. I left her my RX-7 which would never have worked for this trip.
We were leaving from Michigan, the only difference in the road chosen, and went up through Michigan into the Sault. We went into Canada and turned left. We were on our way.
We were two wild and crazy guys, as much as a 13 year old and his 40 year old father could be. I had not figured on the fact I was the only driver which can make for some tiring days. We did bout eight hours a day driving, and had routines for stopping, putting up the tent, eating and taking it down in the morning with some kind of breakfast early, we had our real breakfast at some McDonalds or Tim Horton’s or somewhere about 10:00 a.m.
We never met a single Mom with a 13 year old daughter camping, so our interactions were few with humans. However, we had a great time.
We stayed with Barry Glickman in San Francisco as we had on our first big trip, and many times after that. We stayed with Nancy Rosnow in Santa Fe, and even went to a party at Los Alamos where several of her friends swore they glowed after dark.
We had a great time and were gone several weeks, covering pretty much the same route we had before.
We may have seen Joel Cohen in Denver but I’m not sure. I’ll ask him.
It was a rare opportunity for me (and I hope for my son Josh) to have an experience together. We saw lots of stuff! We laughed a lot! We enjoyed each others company. There were no problems that I can remember in hindsight.
I look at those carefree days as one of the best experiences of my life. I would go again but no one will go with me today. My family and I have incredible camping experiences together, but more in the disaster area than the bucolic.
But that’s another story…
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