Ah the smell of early summer travel is in the aire. This coming weekend is that nice long weekend known at Memorial Day. A time of car trips to destinations away from home. Where you sit in a car listening to music. Your kids (if you have them) are probably watching videos on the back of a headrest or via a video iPod. Because you’ve packed up and put it all in your RV/Camper/or Car. A time when the familial unit can spent quality time together yet they’re all miles apart in their own little worlds of media.
No longer do you have to play slug-bug or I-spy. The “Are we there yet…” has been replaced with “Do I have to watch that again? I’ve seen it a million times.” Yes, it is one of those favorite times. As if.
I was probably one of the bizarre few kids that actually liked going on road trips. Fortunately I had a dad who was a slave to making it happen. Though we didn’t normally go on the usually BIG HOLIDAY’s like Memorial – actually that was more reserved for quality time with grandpa and grandma and going fishing at places like Strawberry Resevoir. It usually included the cousins too. We’d pile into his camper and ride up top looking out the forward window. Something that was extremely fun to watch the road and is likely now very illegal to do. Dontcha love progress, it takes all the fun out of life.
As for trips with my mom and dad. When they were the whole family often times it was camping or heading to a place known as Lake Powell. It was relegated to very early start times in the car. Which to a kid is like the middle of the night – when it’s 4 a.m. The best part is, you’re woken up for a few minutes then you get to go back to sleep while dad takes care of the driving chores. Eventually you wake up and you’re already halfway to the destination of BullFrog Marina. Unlike a lot of America, there is some crazy scenery in the middle of nowhere Utah. However when you get close to Lake Powell, it can get boring. It’s a long drive on a two lane road through rolling small hills of brown.
Actually I really love going to Lake Powell. It’s a really fun place to explore. I still like to go. Though when we went on those trips as a family there was no responsibility on my or my sisters part – well maybe on her part, but not mine. I know now that the water level was much higher when we went as little beings. Which meant you could get to places with a house boat that you can no longer access now, without hiking, if at all. Fun times! I’ve got lots of stories about Lake Powell, I’ll have to reserve most of them for future posts.
Some small towns likely hold Memorial Day Parades. I know they have festivities in Park City. There was times when we didn’t go out of town, but stuck around. For Park City, before it became the megalopolis-small-city that it is now, it used to just be a small town where the action was all held on Main Street. Such is no longer the case. But I remember. That’s where today’s song fits in. I came across Vio-Fonik this week and this spritely song jumped out at me. It reminded me of just such a small town like Park City used to be.
It feels like a firmly rooted home town. Where there is a sense of community and belonging. I think it’s a great feeling. Everyone wants to feel like they belong. Well, maybe not everyone, but a vast majority probably love to. I’ve been able to see a lot of the American countryside based on my work. I plan on seeing a whole lot more of it too. As I do, I’m sure the melody in this song will jump around from time to time in my head and scream out, play me again, while I’m passing through Hilldale somewhere.
How can you resist this vibe? Buy it and keep it with you.
Oh, and don’t forget to unplug once in a while. Take a trip without your iPods and videos. See the country.