Sunday, March 17, 2013

Songers on the Road

In 1988 we took our biggest family vacation which consisted of a 6-week trip around the United States and part of Canada. We decided to go with the Crowther Family, and spent the winter making plans and saving money.  This blog will cover our mode of TRANSPORTATION; there will be other blogs to come about lodging, food, places visited, etc.  ~  Dad
The Crowthers had a new Ford Econoline van with air conditioning.

We, on the other hand, had a beat-up 1976 era Dodge Ram with no A.C.

Our van had versatile seats that could be oriented to face each other with a table in between.  The seats also folded down into a comfy queen-size bed.  We built a carpeted platform in the very back which allowed luggage to be stored underneath and unseatbelted kids to lounge on top.  At night, it served as Emily's bed.

We bought a carrier for "up top" which was loaded by the barefoot boys each morning and unloaded the same way every night.  The girls stayed on the ground, rolling up sleeping baga and folding blankets.  Dad handed them up and off we went.  (after waiting for Travis to get his van loaded while his family watched)
Breakfast was served on the road.  Mom filled paper cups full of juice (from a cooler between the front seats) and passed them back one by one.  The empty cups were passed back up to her to be filled with homemade granola, milk, and a plastic spoon.  It was a perfect van   -  perfect for . . . . . 


"Graceland" singing





naps
hair-styling
make-overs
gymnastics
portable beach house



more sunny siestas
The very first morning, before sun-up, we drove down the canyon to meet the Crowthers.  At the mouth of the canyon we encountered a skunk.  Our tires missed him, but he didn't miss us.  WHEW!  That memory lingered . . .  we reeked for weeks.  We got to the Smith's parking lot and no Crowthers.  They had forgotten their money and had to go home to retrieve it.  Cell phones were non existent, so we bought CB radios to communicate.  We dropped the receiver so ours wasn't working.  Finally on the freeway, our van started overheating and the Crowthers' van was so overloaded it was rubbing on their tires.  A stop in Provo for a new thermostat, spring lifts, carwash, receiver fixed, and we were finally on our way.  After that first morning, we drove 10,500 miles without further incident (not even a flat tire)

2 comments:

  1. this post is priceless! i love it! a lot of these pictures i don't remember seeing before. oh man, i'm so jealous of the simplicity of no seatbelts. look at all the relaxing and fun that we couldn't have had if we were strapped in. my favorite picture is the one of emily pretending to to curl my bangs. that was such a memorable trip. a lot of things i just take for granted - like, yeah we went around the united states when i was 10. but now that i'm a parent, i'm always thinking - do my kids get that the only way they get to have these experiences is if we create them for them? and no, they don't. and i didn't. but now i do. so thanks!

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  2. oh yeah, GRACELAND!!!!!!!!!!!

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