Rest Area Food Rant

Lessons – A haiku

Amidst the Beauty
Stomach turning grease and fat
Next time, bring picnic 

The poem above was inspired by the 10 lbs I gained on this road trip and the Pic and Word Challenge #43 by @pixtowords. 

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We are almost to our destination – I can’t believe we’ve been driving and living out of our minivan for the past 2 weeks. It’s been quite an adventure – one that I am so glad we took as a family. The kids were great at keeping themselves entertained without electronics for about 95% of the trip – thank goodness for friends who supplied us with car games and books and a hubby who made a playlist from all the National Lampoon movie soundtracks. (Holiday Road, anyone?). Hubby and I also had some great conversations during our drive – driving great distances, like running great distances, has a way of opening up and connecting hearts and minds. 

Here are our collection of “Welcome” State signs – I missed a few since we were driving as I was trying to snap a picture. Can you figure out which states we drove through that we don’t have a picture of? 

Line

The quickest way

     Between two points

     Between you and me

Supposedly. 

But it's taken years

     Of squiggles

     Of zig-zags

     Of stops and turn-arounds

     Of detours - intentional and sadly, unintentional

To get to this point

That is not you or me. 

This point called We.

     The intersection of our lives

     The intertwining

     The becoming

A line so strong and sure of
     Its Path

An asymptote that finally enjoys
     The Journey. 

©IIDo, 2016

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Driving across the country, we have encountered a fair share of straight drives (the inspiration for this post). But unlike the dreaded I-5, these drives seemed more interesting. Maybe it’s because we had never driven these roads before or maybe because this trip is more about the journey and not so much the destination – whatever the reason, this road trip has been pretty awesome so far. 

In CA/NV:

In UT/ID:

In MT/WY:

In SD:

Reality

At the end of our tour of Lehman Caves at the Great Basin National Park, Ranger Mark asked, “What do caves protect you from?”  Some responses included: the sun/heat, earthquakes and tornados, the zombie apocalypse. Ranger Mark mentioned that in the past few weeks he had children tell him that caves can protect them from “bullies” and “reality”. 

In the wake of the tragedies in Orlando, I realize that the problems we encounter during our trip – kids crying in the car, speeding tickets, lost souvenirs, white hairs – are minuscule compared to the struggles of others dealing with pain and death, discrimination and hate. 

This trip is our “cave” – protecting us from the reality of bullies and other ignorant and entitled people. I’m hoping the beauty and generosity of the landscape will be enough to keep our spirits resilient. 

Theories

Driving across the country and visiting national parks is fun

In theory

Running in every state we pass through is motivating

In theory

Being in the car for 8 hours a day with 4 children is doable 

In theory

Living for two weeks out of one suitcase for 6 people is expedient

In theory

Surviving this road trip without stress eating (me) and tantrums (everyone else)…..

Let the experiment begin!!!
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Some pictures from Yosemite – I can’t believe we only came here now. Words can’t begin to describe how breathtaking the scenery is. What a wonderful way to start our trip and have this as one of our last memories of our time in CA. 

We also visited this oasis of caffeinated deliciousness – the only Dunkin’ Donuts in CA!