Just Truckin.......

Coming home from the East Coast we sped along the highways.....New York, a little of Pennsylvania, then the Ohio Turnpike. I swear every semi-truck in the country passes through this State on this road....and most of them were doing it right next to, in front of, and behind us. These big guys can be intimidating......and we never "argue" with a semi. They get the right-of-way.

Then, while sitting in the passenger seat, I decided to really look at the trucks....the amazing variety. Moving trucks from Atlas Van Lines and Father and Son Movers. I don't know what the CR England company makes or delivers....but I spotted dozens of them. Swift Premium Meat raced by going in the opposite direction followed by Tyson semis with pictures of huge steaks on the side. Of course I recognized the Walmart and Target trucks and the car carriers headed east and west.

UPS and FedEx trucks were the most numerous....and they were long "doubles" and "triples"....two or three sections long. Some of the newer trucks didn't have hard sides but instead that plastic or whatever material that sort of ripples in the wind as they motor down the highway. I always wonder what's underneath? I don't know what XPO Logistics produces either....but judging by the number of trucks I spotted they are doing well.

Some were very personal - boasting an individual family's business: Gamer Trucking, Inc., Bruce Keener Trucking, Taddy's Transport and Simon's Trucking. A big Lays Potato Chip truck pulled past us....a blue semi with the big red logo and HUGE yellow rippled potato chips floating along the side. And the do-it-yourselfers piloting a U-Haul or Penske to a new future.

My favorite was one carrying fresh produce and the side of the truck had ten foot asparagus spears painted from front to back....they looked fresh and good enough to eat.

So I've already decided on the next trip's "theme". I am going to count green and purple cabs on passing semi-trucks. I'll save blue and red for the trip after that.......

The Morning Headache......

 

Just scribbling this morning.......

Just A Few More.....

So we continued down the road!

Stop driving when you are tired! There's that death word again!

Similar -  but not the same!

Keep in mind we never saw a moose.....just a lot of very good signage. More likely if we'd been driving at night....

This one puzzled us for quite a while!

And one last example - what would you have done at this corner???

Well traveling is such a broadening experience.....even if it's just noticing new road signs. Just be sure your breaks are working on the downgrades!

Like Minded People.....

Our trip to Canada brought us together with about 50 like-minded people. 35 Roadtreks descended on campgrounds all around Quebec and the Gaspe Peninsula. The two couples who organized the adventure started on the details over a year ago. And it was made even more challenging because much of the conversations had to be in French.

Now when Dave and I go out we usually camp like this.... and we are the only Roadtreks in sight.

Until we got to Quebec and there was a Roadtrek explosion.

They were everywhere and it was a bit confusing to our Fenway who kept trying to walk toward each one until I'd say, "No Fen....that one's not ours!" I even almost walked into several at different stops along the way until just before opening the door I'd realize, "Oh....that's not my doormat!"

It was fun following each other down the road....and spotting others along the way at overlooks or museums or wherever.

And it was fun to gather together after the evening meal to share stories and experiences around the campfire.

It was fun to travel with people who feel the same about going out and about in a small space.....they all "get it".  Hope to do it again soon......

This Trip's Theme.....

Every time we take an extended Roadtrek trip a "theme" sort of presents itself. The first trip, years ago, we began to count roadkill. I seem to remember that racoons "won". Other themes have included the names of cemetaries, the slogans that are chosen to represent small towns....like "Buckle of the Corn Belt".

This trip we were headed up to Quebec and then traveled around the Gaspe Peninsula...a lot of driving. Quebec is a fascinating province and French is the first language. I loved it.....searching back in my brain for the high school French that helped just a little bit. I found that if I attempted to communicate in French I was greeted with a smile and many times using English completed the conversation.

But one of the most fun things was looking at the road signs! Most of these photos were taken quickly as we moved down the roads....some were pretty obvious, others took us a little while. But I present a few - see if you can figure them out!

Love the use of the word "intrusion" in this one! Imagine an intrusion with a MOOSE!

This sign was on a ferry that took us across the Saint Lawrence.

Keep in mind that the word "mort" means death!

Driving next to the bay if a storm comes up - watch out!

:-) Probably more tomorrrow!

Looking Out the Window...

We are almost home from our latest adventure, took our little RV out to explore Quebec and The Gaspe Peninsulain Canada......it will be four weeks tomorrow and I am ready to get back to normal for awhile.

Yesterday, when it was my turn at the wheel, we were moving west on the highway heading from Pennsylvania into Ohio. I was watching traffic, of course, but also scanning the grassy and/or hilly areas next to the road.

We did a lot of traveling along this route between Chicago and New Jersey, Wisconsin and Massachusetts....the kids were young and it was summer roadtrip time to visit one set of grandparents or the other. This was a long  time ago....no personal video players to watch a favorite movie....earbuds in so no one else had to share. I think the kids, after awhile, had some kind of now old-fashioned tape player so they could listen to their favorites while we turned the dial for NPR or a local country station.

But we also played a lot of typical pass-the-miles sort of games. The alphabet game, writing lists of all the different semi-truck companies, counting cows....”I See Something....”. All of these would now seem incredibly boring or stupid I’m sure.

But yesterday I remembered the game we invented trying to identify wildflowers as we sped by at 60 mph. I had a small reference book in the front seat and we learned to spot a lot of different flowers as we raced east or west. Tall Joe Pye Weed, tiny yellow birdsfoot trefoil, wild daisies and purple loosestrife (we called that one purple pointy-ups). I saw soft blue chicory, bold yellow dandelions, milkweek, orange hawkeyes, and a few brown eyed Susans.

The game went on for years...and we would record the date and place of each new sighting. And on each trip we recorded the date and place we discovered a new-to-us flower. As we played, the game would provide entertainment for 30-45 minutes nefore the back seat passengers would begin to grumble.  “He’s touching me!” “She’s breathing my air!”

Signal to look for a wayside, enjoy a snack or picnic lunch and run off some of the pent up energy.

Wildflowers along the roadside.....not weeds.....Nature’s beauty she shares with us. I still pack the book on our travels. Look out the window......

Curious......

So it is the third Sunday in June and it’s Father’s Day in the USA. After wishing Dave a happy day and thanking him for fathering our two terrific children, I googled because I was curious about the history of this celebration.

The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Seattle in 1910......it was Sonora Smart Dodd’s idea and became an official celebration in 1972. So I guess it’s another of what I call “Hallmark Holidays”....but on the other hand, isn’t it nice to have a day on the calendar when we take an extra few minutes to think about and thank the fathers in our lives.  The birth fathers, the step-fathers, the close male friends who act as fathers offering love and support when needed.

These are not especially original thoughts on my part.....I am echoing comments shared by many others..... but I’ll do it again. Wishing my husband, Dave, a Happy Father’s Day....with neither one of his “kids” within hugging distance a phone call connection will have to do this year.

Maybe next year our two “kids” and their four “kids” will be close enough so Dave can grab them close for a big group hug......

And Another Good Read....

Not every book I pick up turns out to be un-put-downable.....but this one was. I found a hard back copy of Jennifer Haigh’s book The Condition in one of Port Washington’s Little Free Library kiosks. I took it along on our recent RV exploration. It was a page-turner. A family saga set in New England and the main themes revolves around a family’s inability to come to terms with the reality of one child who is diagnosed with Turner’s syndrome.

It is a novel, but I will assume that the basic information about this genetic condition are presented accurately. And the interarctions between each of the parents....with each other and with each of their three children as they grow into adulthood is sometimes touching, sometimes heartbreaking.....and sometimes hits close to home.

The book was another reminder, to me, that within one family each child can have a totally different experience of childhood. And these differing views and memories can later interfere with any kind of satisfying adult relationship with one another.

Several sentences made me stop and re-read them....several times. “Love is like any other material. You can only lean on it so hard, for so long. Sooner or later it is going to give.” “It was astounding what a person could forgive if she wanted to.” “The difference is vast; you could fit a whole life in the gulf between. And so she has.”

I love it when a book speaks to me.......and this one did.

No Takers.....

Well a little while back I posted a suggestion that someone who is a fan of 45 might contact me.....and we would agree to “switch” sides for a week to try to understand each other’s perspective. Not saying it would have been easy.....but since I had no one who agreed to this experiment I guess I won’t have to worry about it.

I’ll continue being appauled at his comments/behavior, and the advisors he’s chosen to try to advise him about important national challenges completely outside their areas of expertise......and perhaps history will prove me wrong.

One can only hope......

Getting By With High School French.....

It’s fun traveling in Quebec....cross the border and you are “in” France. The proud history of the Province means that everything is French and you can enjoy a very different culture without crossing the Atlantic.

I took four years of French in high school and one in college. It’s interesting to me just how much of the language is still “lurking” in my brain. We drive along and I can figure out most road signs. We go to the market and I can figure out the labels. And I can have a pretty successful, if rudimentary, conversation with shop keepers, waitresses, campground hosts and friendly citizens interested in meeting Fenway.

So....bonjour! Au revoir! Je suis bien, merci...et vous? Quesque c’est? La addition s’il vous plait. Je suis American et je parle le francaise un peu. Como ca va? Ou est La Boulangerie?

No one can see how I’m spelling any of this...thankfully....and I’m sure the grammar is often incorrect.  But it is still fun to make the effort.....and Le Quebecois seem to appreciate my bumbling along in their native tongue......