Road Trips
So I'm sitting here tonight thinking to myself that maybe, just maybe, I'm a bit too old to do certain things. Sure, I can't be a ball kid at a soccer game, and I'll probably get funny looks when I get stuck in the ball pit at McDonald's playland, but there are certain necessities of life that I'll never outgrow...and my favorite is the ROAD TRIP!
I've made several road trips in my day, but as I look back I didn't partake in enough of them. Driving has been one of my escapes. Always has been, always will be. When I just want to get away from reality, there's no better release than to jump in the car and take off for nowhere in particular. Of course, one would think that getting lost is a downside...not me! There is no such thing as lost, just temporarily displaced. I know where I came from, but without a destination, I can't be lost.
I have had many road trips, and each is memorable in its own right, but one always seems to stick out when I think back about the best times I've had.
My all-time favorite road trip is actually several of them combined. My friend Zach and I have pretty much made this more of a pilgrimage than a road trip. The road leads to nowhere else but Columbus, Ohio! Why Ohio? The armpit of the midwest? Good question...nothing but "the beautiful game" (known in the US as soccer). Zach and I have made this pilgrimage three times so far, and each time we have had different companions join in. All three road trips have been to watch the US Men's National Team play World Cup qualifying matches...and all three are memorable in their own right. The trip to Columbus usually takes us about 7 hours to get there from Chicago. We leave early in the morning, get there sometime in the afternoon, and the soccer match starts at about 7PM. The ride down is great...I drive all the way and it has always been non-stop talking from the minute we leave Chicago to the minute we arrive in Columbus. Zach and I (as well as our compatriots) have no shortage of topics that are covered, but the can't-miss has always been soccer talk. Favorite teams, favorite players, favorite plays, you name it, we've probably talked about everything topic relating to soccer. The trips down are the times I enjoy the most...a chance to just relax and be with friends.
As the game finishes up, we all know what lies ahead...MORE DRIVING. Yeah, that's right, these pilgrimages are a one-day event. Luckily, the roads are fairly clear on the way back, so it only takes about 6 hours, all the stops at every Stake and Shake along the way included. That makes 13 hours of driving in a day just to watch a 2-hour soccer match. It's well worth it. I can never make the entire drive back, and I'm glad that Zach is the late-nighter because he takes the late shift as we pull back into Chicago about 3AM the next morning.
These pilgrimages are exhausting and take a toll, but are well worth it. Sure, we could crash somewhere on the way back, but that's part of the fun...making a day of it. Of course, this last one we left a day early, but that's only because I knew I wasn't going to sleep that night awaiting the sequel to "La Guera Fria" that we partook of in February 2001. Road trips are the way to go, and I look forward to the next one. Never too old for a road trip. Experience different cultures (and you'd know what I mean if you've ever been to Kentucky); hear people talking funny; and just see the world. I know that when/if I retire, I'm selling everything I own, buying a motor home and traveling. All I need to do now is figure out what song my horn will play!
I've made several road trips in my day, but as I look back I didn't partake in enough of them. Driving has been one of my escapes. Always has been, always will be. When I just want to get away from reality, there's no better release than to jump in the car and take off for nowhere in particular. Of course, one would think that getting lost is a downside...not me! There is no such thing as lost, just temporarily displaced. I know where I came from, but without a destination, I can't be lost.
I have had many road trips, and each is memorable in its own right, but one always seems to stick out when I think back about the best times I've had.
My all-time favorite road trip is actually several of them combined. My friend Zach and I have pretty much made this more of a pilgrimage than a road trip. The road leads to nowhere else but Columbus, Ohio! Why Ohio? The armpit of the midwest? Good question...nothing but "the beautiful game" (known in the US as soccer). Zach and I have made this pilgrimage three times so far, and each time we have had different companions join in. All three road trips have been to watch the US Men's National Team play World Cup qualifying matches...and all three are memorable in their own right. The trip to Columbus usually takes us about 7 hours to get there from Chicago. We leave early in the morning, get there sometime in the afternoon, and the soccer match starts at about 7PM. The ride down is great...I drive all the way and it has always been non-stop talking from the minute we leave Chicago to the minute we arrive in Columbus. Zach and I (as well as our compatriots) have no shortage of topics that are covered, but the can't-miss has always been soccer talk. Favorite teams, favorite players, favorite plays, you name it, we've probably talked about everything topic relating to soccer. The trips down are the times I enjoy the most...a chance to just relax and be with friends.
As the game finishes up, we all know what lies ahead...MORE DRIVING. Yeah, that's right, these pilgrimages are a one-day event. Luckily, the roads are fairly clear on the way back, so it only takes about 6 hours, all the stops at every Stake and Shake along the way included. That makes 13 hours of driving in a day just to watch a 2-hour soccer match. It's well worth it. I can never make the entire drive back, and I'm glad that Zach is the late-nighter because he takes the late shift as we pull back into Chicago about 3AM the next morning.
These pilgrimages are exhausting and take a toll, but are well worth it. Sure, we could crash somewhere on the way back, but that's part of the fun...making a day of it. Of course, this last one we left a day early, but that's only because I knew I wasn't going to sleep that night awaiting the sequel to "La Guera Fria" that we partook of in February 2001. Road trips are the way to go, and I look forward to the next one. Never too old for a road trip. Experience different cultures (and you'd know what I mean if you've ever been to Kentucky); hear people talking funny; and just see the world. I know that when/if I retire, I'm selling everything I own, buying a motor home and traveling. All I need to do now is figure out what song my horn will play!
posted by Rocco @ 6:00 PM
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