No matter what age you are, always find time for romance. And
what better way to do so then to take a road trip
– a true test for any relationship. We have been dragging our
butts around here at Linda’s Last Chance Ranch feeling burnt-out
and just plum-tired. It was time to recharge our batteries and take
a much-needed honeymoon vacation.
By 4:10 a.m. Sept. 16, we were on the road and heading for Idaho
Falls to visit family and to spend some time alone with each other.
We had no interruptions and no distractions
– just the two of us, alone for three days in a car with nothing
to do but talk.
No matter what age you are, always find time for romance. And what better way to do so then to take a road trip – a true test for any relationship. We have been dragging our butts around here at Linda’s Last Chance Ranch feeling burnt-out and just plum-tired. It was time to recharge our batteries and take a much-needed honeymoon vacation.
By 4:10 a.m. Sept. 16, we were on the road and heading for Idaho Falls to visit family and to spend some time alone with each other. We had no interruptions and no distractions – just the two of us, alone for three days in a car with nothing to do but talk.
Truthfully, it was a honeymoon ride all the way to Idaho Falls. It was the first vacation without a child attached to me or without someone in back seat asking, “Are we there, yet?”
Instead of having distractions, like the radio or playing a CD, Jim and I talked and talked and talked. Oh, wait a minute, that was Jim who did the talking. That’s right. And I got an earful.
Though Jim contended he did all the “important talking,” I believe I now know more about old trucks than I ever wanted to know. I never worry about Jim having a roving eye for some young gal – my competition is older than me, made of steel and has a running board.
My job was to spot old cars and trucks, and wait in the truck with my bum foot while Jim roamed the junk yards looking at old trucks. “Now that’s love for ya.”
Excited to see his brother, Jim spoke fondly of him while reflecting on childhood memories – it was like listening to a little kid talk about Christmas morning. “My brother and me we did this… And then, my brother said…”
Motoring along the back roads, we took great pleasure in the scenery provide by nature. America is a great country to see. The landscape is as diverse as it is breathless and the only thing that stopped Jim from talking.
What can I write about the land that hasn’t been written before, except sometimes it is hard keeping a conservation going when you turn a bend to see a lush valley snug between the mountains.
We had great pleasure visiting towns with populations of 20 or less.
“Where all the people are above average,” quoted Jim at each stop.
Every town was unique to the people who lived there, as were the people who drove by. One town in particular really stood out for its uniqueness was Wagontire, Ore. with a population of two. The town had a cafe, an RV park and an “international airport.”
We entered the cafe where the whole town had gathered. The whole town was a mother and her adult daughter who were making homemade cinnamon buns.
“Politics and nepotism all in one town,” I smiled. “I love it.”
“So who makes the decisions around here,” wondered Jim. “With a population of two, what happens if there’s a split vote.”
“Well that’s easy,” I said. “The mom by default would be the tie breaker.”
Who knew taking a vacation without children could be so enjoyable? I’ll tell you who, every parent the day their youngest child walked out the door to venture out on their own.
Sure, we parents feel the pangs of an empty nest, but the truth is your parents were probably doing the happy dance the day you left.
I’m still toe-tapping.
Linda Lee King is a Free Lance correspondent. She can be reached at
wi*******@ju**.com
