Road trips provide chances to reconnect

7/29/2009

Road trips provide chances to reconnect
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian

Climbing into the seat next to my husband as we set out for vacation brought as much giddiness and excitement as the old E-Ticket rides at Disneyland when I was a kid. Sure there was the anticipation of the trip in general, but I was looking forward to actually riding with John. In an effort to stretch my vacation days as much as possible, the last couple of years John would hit the road with our toys and utilizing my SkyMiles, I'd fly to an airport near our destination.

Well, the excitement of being in the truck lasted until about ... Cabbage Hill.

In the four years since I last took an extended road trip, I forgot how confining the cab of the pickup is. To help pass the time (and refrain from critiquing John's driving), I read several newspapers, some chapters from Rolf Potts' book, "Marco Polo Didn't Go There," and the atlas. Note to self: Get more reading material for the drive home.

Although the atlas will never make a list of best sellers or a Pulitzer Prize, it did provide information for a little travel trivia. (Name the states that are larger than Oregon, identify the capital of each state and list the three least populated states in order.) On a side note - I'm amazed that the entire state of Wyoming has less people than the city of Portland.

And what trip would be complete without the periodic query of, "Are we there yet?"

As we drove through Salt Lake City, the sky darkened, the wind kicked up and it started to pour down rain. I suddenly became quite worried about my golf clubs, which were standing straight up in the bed of the truck, wedged between the ATV and the back wheel well. I pressed my nose against the window and peered into the darkness - trying to see how they were holding up.

As the storm continued, I verbalized my concerns with a running commentary, which alternated between the booming thunder and jagged lightning, other drivers on the road, the decreased visibility and my golf clubs.

Later as the weather subsided, I said to John: "Haven't you missed having me ride with you on vacation?"

"It really is a different experience," he responded.
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Tammy Malgesini is the EO's community editor. Her column, Inside my shoes, will appear every other week. You can reach her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com of 541-564-4539.