Sunday Drives
I remember when my family went for a Sunday drives.
There was no particular destination, the activity was the ride. When I was real young, my sister and I sat in the “very very backseat” of my grandmother’s station wagon. We faced the car behind us and thought that was great. We waved at everyone and , for the mot part, they waved back. And of course, the drivers of those Big Mac trucks obliged us by blowing the horn when we did the signal for pulling down on the rope. Honk~Honk. However, most of rides took place in the four-door family sedan. My sister, Sue, sat on one side of the back seat and I sat on the opposite side. Most of the time, we got along fine, but occasionally her hand got on my side and I had to let her know!
So where were we going on those many Sunday afternoons? No where and everywhere. The ride was not really made to have a destination, but more of an adventure within itself. Since we lived in the country, the roads were lined with beautiful trees that changed shape and colors as the year rolled on.
In the spring, we took a Sunday ride to see the apple blossoms and the dogwood trees. Even as a kid, I felt it was like going on a treasure hunt when we went out to find the dark pink dogwood flowers. They were so rare that we kept count on one hand the number of those pink ladies we spotted. Just writing this brings back memories of my sister, Sue, who loved those dogwood trees.
Autumn meant taking a ride to find all kinds of fun things, like nuts and pine cones. My grandmother made the best fudge with those devine nuts and my mom and I would spray paint the pine cones and make all types of holiday decorations. But sometimes, we would just take a ride on the back roads and take in the warm hues of the fall foliage.
Later in life, I would take my grandfather, Poppie, for a Sunday ride usually in the summer when I was home from college. We talked about all sorts of things, but he was especially interested in all things medical. By this point in life, I knew I wanted to become a health professional so I was thrilled to chat with Poppie about clinical stuff, especially because no one else in my family was a bit interested. We would somehow end up at the Polar Bear or Stripples for a strawberry ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles.
When my kids were younger, my husband and I continued the tradition. We often took our boys for a Sunday drive to the beach, the pumpkin patch, or just “out east.” The yellow lab always came with us and just like my sister and me, the boys had their territorial wars in the back seat. Awe, the good ole days!
Since my husband and I retired, we have continue with our rides. We use them to explore new areas and revisit local sites. I love to drive by the farm lands near us, it reminds me of where I grew up. Yes, we take our yellow labs, but they never complain about crossing the imaginary line that seems to exist in the backseat!
Photo resource: Pinterest
