Road Trip...!

The other day at work we were chatting about the perfect vacation we would have, if we could choose any vacation. One person said he would like to trek through the Himalayan Mountains, someone else said she would spend the summer in Rome, a third person said she would find the nearest tropical beach and park herself there for the summer. I was almost embarrassed to admit, the perfect vacation -- in my opinion -- would be a road trip in an RV. What better way to travel and see the sights than in your very own home?

These things are nicer than many hotel rooms, and they're certainly more spacious than my treehouse. I think anyone would be comfortable in this room after a long day of hiking, swimming, fishing, sightseeing, or just lazing around in some remote little corner of the country. You could go where you pleased, when you pleased, without having to stand in some crowded lineup in an airport. Of course, the fact that I am not a huge fan of flying may have something to do with my preference for keeping at least one of my feet on the ground at all times.

But still...

Ever since I read "Travels With Charley" by John Steinbeck, I have wanted to take exactly the same trip that he did. Steinbeck traveled throughout the United States in a specially-made camper which he named "Rocinante" after the horse of Don Quixote. He started his travels in Long Island, New York roughly following the outer border of the United States, from Maine to the Pacific Northwest, down into his native Salinas Valley in California, across to Texas, up through the Deep South, and then back to New York, a trip encompassing nearly 10,000 miles. ... Wikipedia. John Steinbeck is one of my heroes, and I have read every one of his books, including "Travels with Charley" several times. You will find copies of all his books in my bookcases. John Steinbeck reminded me a bit of my father -- they even resembled each other -- and my father owned a camper van just like "Rocinante". We used to travel all over Vancouver Island when I was a girl, camping in Qualicum, Long Beach, Tofino -- everywhere. My father would pick oysters fresh off the beach and my mother would make a batter out of breadcrumbs, butter and lemon, and then grill the oysters on the barbeque. Mom and Dad would open a bottle of white wine, and they would listen to Beethoven, Mozart, or my Dad's favorite -- Haydn -- while they ate the fresh oysters and drink wine, with the waves breaking on the shore. To me, that was the perfect vacation.

The other day I watched a re-run of "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, and despite all the tight spots they got into, they looked as if they were having a wonderful time. I think it would just be so much fun to pile into an RV and go wherever the road takes me.