Blog Dare ~ Road Trips

I realized, somewhat belatedly, that starting a new blog challenge during my work week(end), may not have been the best idea I've ever had.  I wasn't able to post yesterday for the March 5th prompt, which was "What I  never leave behind on a road trip" so I want to do that one today.

The actual prompt for today is about Pinterest, but I have to be honest, I never really got caught in the craze.  I made an account and pinned a few things to see what all the fuss was about, but it just never caught on with me.

So, a day late, here is my post about road trips.

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Road trips, of every imaginable variety, have always been part of my life.  My great-aunt that I lived with until I was 12 was forever going on trips, rides, vacations, etc.  My parents loved the mountains and we were always taking rides and vacations every year (and we always traveled by car).

As an adult myself, I've made going for road trips a part of my life, as well as my daughter's.  I wanted to share the beauty of the world with her, and I did.

One thing that has been ever-present on my road trips was a cooler.  Always packed with drinks for the trip, but often it was also packed with sandwiches and snacks.  Many impromptu picnics have happened next to a lazy stream, a roaring waterfall, or a look-out on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Image via Wikipedia

One of my favorite memories of my little family from when my daughter was about 7 or 8 was a summer day in my old pick-up truck, just the 3 of us out exploring the world with our trusty cooler packed in the floorboard of the space-cab.  It was loaded down with soft drinks, juice, ham sandwiches, fruit, and a box of Little Debbie cakes.  We headed for the mountains and ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  After about half an hour, I saw a breath-taking view and a pull-off.

We sat on the tailgate of the truck and enjoyed the view while Mini-Me looked through the viewer set up to take quarters.  I pulled the blanket and cooler out of the truck and we had a picnic, in the bed of the truck, with one of the most spectacular views in the world.  Had I not packed that cooler to take with us, we never would have had that memory.

One final thing that has always been a major part of our road trips was music.  A good radio station with a strong signal, (cassette tapes back in the day), CD's, a good playlist, whatever floats your boat, but music is crucial on a road trip.  I've cruised many a road to the beat of Green Day, Third Eye Blind, Alanis Morsette and many more favorites.  The three of us singing at the tops of our lungs as we boogied our way through our rides made the day that much more enjoyable!

What do you consider a must-have for a road trip?  Leave me a comment, or go link up with Blog Dare!