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Show Thoughts From The Garden . . . by Tonya LeMone If you don't know where you are going, any road will lead you there... I am not a traveler, never have been and may never become one. I am very happy on my own little half acre plot of land. Anything unusual or interesting can easily be found about 30 steps out my French doors. So, why exactly do people travel? And, the bigger question is, why do they take road trips? On a road trip the intention is to not know where you are going or when you will be home, or where you will be sleeping or eating. The only sure thing you do know is that you have no expectations and with that comes little or no disappointments.... sounds kind of fun! About five years ago I agreed to such an adventure, so off we went heading north to the Pacific Northwest... ..a return to our homeland. It was just the two of us, two' suitcases, a stack of cassette tapes and the old Range Rover. We had instantly become a couple of hippies, no destination other than northward and no phones to answer uniess we really wanted to, no meals to plan or cook and no schedule to keep. With all those things in our favor, we contemplated never returning. The first day into our "road trip" we were re-routed because of a fire in eastern Oregon, but much to our surprise, the detour took us right to my old hometown where I spent all my teenage years. We spent an entire day recapturing those memories of my childhood, where I graduated, where we use to go swimming, (for me sunbathing), the lane my friends and I rode horses down everyday after school, where my father and I lived, where I drove a car for the first time, and yes my first kiss. . .Oh the memories. Anyway, back to the road trip, because we were in an old Range Rover, there were a few mechanical problems along the way which resulted in my husband spending several hours of the trip in the back seat of the car. It was in no way punishment for bad behavior because he couldn't leave the seat ulone, but the seat was stuck in a horizontal position refusing to move after numerous attempts until we could get to a dealership in Seattle. Note to self: rent a new car for the next, if ever, road trip or sign up for triple-A roadside service, or third option, leave the husband home and take one of the kids that won't play continually with the electric seat adjustments. Our final destination was one of the most unexpected beautiful destinations we could have ever made, Whidbey Island in Washington State. We stayed right on the water and could hear the waves hit the docks in the morning. We watched as yachts approached and set sail again every day. v We walked the streets of a little town lined with streetlights that had baskets of flowers so profusely in bloom that they nearly touched the ground. We visited little unique shops and found a beautiful Christmas ornament to ever remind us of our time in Whidbey. We ate dinner two nights in a row at a little intimate Greek restaurant on Main Street and sat next to the window and by candlelight we watched other mesmerized tourists as they were discovering this new found paradise. As we all know all good things must come to an end, even "road trips", so we reluctantly boarded the ferry to begin our return back home to the phones ringing the never ending responsibilities and, oh yeah to the little half-acre I didn't ever want to leave because it brought me all the joy I needed. "Road trips" are a good thing. You go to unexpected places, see unexpected things and have unexpected things happen, but along the journey of a "road trip" you find out the most unexpected things about yourself. Try a "road trip" soon and see what unexpected things you find along the way. You might like those unexpected things you find along the way. See you in the garden |