Those of you who are parents have vivid memories of the early days, weeks, months and maybe years of the doubts and uncertainties of your new position as a parent. No doubt your thoughts took you back to your early childhood and how your parents fulfilled their roles. Let's be honest here and admit that we thought in most instances they could have done better. Now older parents and grandparents don't get your feathers ruffled--as our years of parenthood progressed we began to realize you were pretty smart. Don't you wish those "goody packages" given out by the hospital included an OPERATIONS MANUAL? I would have quickly turned to the index and looked under Ts for Twins. Yes, I began with two. Doubly blessed.
What phase or stage of rearing your children caused you the most consternation and sleepless nights? Mine was keeping a good balance of the tangible and intangible--the things and the learning opportunities--the material items and the life skills. How would we as parents keep a balance between what our children wanted and what they needed? We came up with the idea of "learning vacations." Our children were naturally curious and enjoyed helping to plan these jaunts.
CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!
It was June of 1972. The International Travelall (with two gas tanks) was securely hitched to the white Norris travel trailer which slept six, if you didn't mind sleeping on the kitchen table, filled with enough clothes and supplies for six persons for a month--almost. We were realistic enough to know that there would be items we didn't even know we would need all along the way.
I teach memoir writing and one of the first lessons is about taking small slices of your memoir to write about. Adding too many details can make for a boring story. Often the students are surprised when these slices are put together and they have an interesting life story that will pique readers interests. So, I've set out to write a memoir of our trip and I'll focus on one aspect. .... how we manage to have a wonderful trip on such a small budget.
As we slowly pulled out of our driveway in Radford, Virginia on a clear June day, the air seemed to be filled with electricity. We couldn't believe the day had finally arrived. I'm sure the "Driver of the Rig" was checking off items on his mind's list. I had my clipboard in my lap, hurriedly scanning the list for anything that might have been overlooked. Before we had gone two blocks, "Mom, make my sister tell me how much money she brought. I told her how much I have." I didn't expect this type of disagreement so soon. They usually worked these things out by themselves. "I don't think it matters if you know how much money she brought.(Of course it did-they are twins.)Let's forget it and enjoy the scenery." No response.
We were headed for the Great Smoky Mountains. Mountains! That word put a queasy feeling in my stomach. Although we lived in the mountains we had fairly straight roads and a choice to drive on the curvy ones. One of the twins always got motion sickness. I needed to be ready...the Smokys were known for bringing on this condition.
The first night would be spent in a rustic campground. I think there was electricity. The children were not happy about the outside toilets. We talked to them about their economy but on this first day of the trip economics were not important. As it turned out this was a freebie...no one came around to collect the fee. This was noted in the record book.
We had a simple hot supper that evening and a quick breakfast of cereal and fruit the next morning. We brought as many supplies from home as the trailer would hold. I had bought specials at the grocery stores for weeks before we left. We always prepared out meals when we were in a campground. There were other days when we stayed in motels and we ate in restaurants. I remember the day we entered San Fransisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. I had a tray in my lap making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Add a piece of fruit and everyone had a nutritious lunch for a small cost. It was exciting to stop along the way in the San Joaquin Valley for fresh produce. We talked about how some of these luscious products would end up back East on our families' and friends' tables. I'm unable to locate my journal of the trip but I think I remember that we spent less than $150.00 for groceries. Sounds impossible today.
As far as gasoline for a towing vehicle,it takes a lot. Remember this was 1972 before the energy crunch. We were fortunate to find gas for as little as nineteen cents a gallon in Texas. That certainly helped the average cost. We were pleased at the total we spent for the round trip from Virginia to California.
Entertainment is important on vacations. There were certain places that we agreed not to miss. As far as those that cost a large fee, we would limit them to three or four. Disney Land was a must. What a wonderful opportunity to see so much of this beautiful country for a small fee or for free. The wonderful National Parks are inexpensive and so different in the sights and wild life. We decided to go through as many state capitals as possible. We all learned a lot more about this vast country than we had known. The pictures and slides were used in my fifth grade geography class. My older son enjoyed fishing along the way. The younger son learned to read by the road signs.
As I have mentioned before we stayed in moderately priced motels every fourth or fifth night to give everyone room to stretch, take a shower in a regular size bathroom. No price could be put on what this did for morale.!
I will never forget the night of June 30th. We were in Las Vegas and it was my birthday. The temperature was 122 degrees and we knew we couldn't stand the heat in the camper. We stayed in a motel in the city. The children were fascinated with the brightly lit city teeming with people at 11:00 in the evening. I read months later that that was the longest day ever recorded. It certainly seemed that way!
This memoir is getting long and I will close with just a few suggestions if you are planning to make a similar trip.
1. Have enough cash set aside for emergencies. Fortunately we didn't have any.
2. Plan your trip down to every detail because you will have forgotten a few things.
3. Know where you want to go and be aware of the cost.
4. If you're camping or have means of preparing meals, take along supplies.
5. Keep a diary and take lots of photographs.
6. Leave an itinerary with someone back home.
I would encourage families to take similar trips. It is an experience the children will never forget and they will be the smartest kids in geography and history classes.
Written with fond memories.
Darlene Eichler
