Road Trip

It is maybe 1974 and the station wagon is packed with a tent, a cooler, and sleeping bags. We load up into the car. I'm not sure who sat where but I was either in the back seat or the back of the wagon with Pat. The car heads down Spruce, down that steep include. We are excited. Maybe a bit noisy. My dad explodes. Then controls it. Then explains it. We are quiet. For a long while. My next memory is of the campsite. I imagine us pouring out of the station wagon. I remember the ordeal of setting up the tent we would not sleep in it. I remember being sent off to find firewood. I remember the best part being with my brothers. I remember the car always seems to be on the verge of overheating or losing it's breaks. How my dad would not want to use the brakes when going down the mountain for fear of losing them. How it scared me to death.

This week, Sabrina, Amanda, Kobe and I made a road trip to Sabrina's hometown of Xiangyang. Xiangyang is about a 13-hour drive from Beijing. We loaded up the car. Kobe, the dog, in the front seat - passenger if you're wondering. Two small suitcases, a large bag of gifts, and Amanda's stroller in the hatchback. Sabrina and Amanda in the back seat. Our car is a 2008 VW Bora. I had wanted to get a new car in part for this road trip but that didn't work out in time (another story), so we decided to risk it. What could go wrong with a 16-year-old compact car? Overheating? Brakes?

When my brother Pat moved to Concord I decided to visit him the night he moved in. I drove my dad's compact car the 40 miles and somehow found his place. My dad was pissed that I didn't have the sense to check the oil or the tire pressure before the 40 mile journey. So for the 700 mile journey to Xiangyang, I checked..nothing..well I did peek at the tires.

We decided to split to trip into two legs, with the first stop being Zhengzhou in central china. About nine hours from Beijing. The drive smooth along the G4 highway. Perfect roads, good conditions. We spent the night in a hotel that allows dogs and noticed the Zhengzhou marathon was the next day; apparently nearby. We woke up the next morning to the sounds of excited runners. We had a leasuring walk and with 4-5 hours of driving would be in Xiangyang in time for a family dinner. Then we noticed the fences. Blocking all the roads around our hotel. China got really good at fences during covid. We could not drive out due to the marathon. All roads closed until 3pm. At around noon we noticed an opening on one road. We checked out of the hotel. Got past the first barrier. Promising. Then hit another. Turn around. Drive down another road. Another barrier. We noticed other cars doing the same exercise as us. We parked near a park. Sat. Waited. Until almost 3pm. Then we were off. We got off the G4 and took a smaller two-lane highway. Roads still good and speeds still fast. Then night fell. And there was road construction. Then the road was dark. Apparently 3M paint not universal. People driving fast behind me with high beams. Trucks. Lots of Trucks. Irregular shaped trucks. Odd flashing lights on the back of said trucks. I got a little anxious. Stopped at a rest stop. Regrouped. Plowed on.

We made it to Xiangyang around 8pm. Amanda met her grandparents for the first time. Dinner was served. Kobe took me for a walk.

My memories of the camping trip with my dad and siblings is a bit spotty. I do remember when it was time to leave folding the tent was a big deal. Dusting it off. Rolling it. Not the handiest of humans, us Allios.