Road Trips – the Short Ones

 

Martin and I love road trips to anywhere. We enjoy the time in a car escaping to something new. But this blog is about the trips that happen with only one thing on your packing list – a willingness to laugh.

One afternoon Jeanette, Geordan and I were driving home from the University of Houston Charter School and noticed a man on a ladder painting a mural. We parked and watched, and eventually the man came down from the ladder and up to the window of our car. He gave us business cards and stickers for the kids. That eventually led to a Poppy-directed day of repainting our wooden swing set –a work of art that may be included in the next Houston Urban Experience Mural Festival.

Another day, that same route home had a lengthy stop for a passing train. We noticed the truck next to us because the driver had his leg out the window and his foot resting on the side mirror. Closer to home, we saw the same truck, but his foot had returned to its proper driving position. It appeared he was headed our way and as loyal Galena Park citizens we had an obligation to find out why. So, we followed him. All the way into our little town. Down Clinton Drive. He made a left at the light at Holland Avenue, and we did too, although the yellow turned to red mid-turn. To the delight of my fellow spies, we made visual contact again. He eventually stopped at an apartment complex so we parked nearby to see who he was meeting and what crime might be committed. But when he looked our way, we decided to make a get-away before the police arrived to arrest him for some unknown crime or to arrest us for stalking.

Our friend owns a cupcake shop so a road trip to League City seemed like a good idea until my GPS led us into a neighborhood. We stopped in front of a house on Spoonbill Avenue and pondered whether we should knock and ask for cupcakes. The kids were thrilled to be lost (strange children) and wondered if we should just find a hotel and stay for the night. We did eventually find the shop and had a great time watching cupcakes being made. But when we speak of this, they remember Spoonbill Lane and getting lost. Nobody mentions the cupcakes.

One day I was taking them home from my house when they asked to roll down their windows and feel the wind. I made sure they were seated and buckled then agreed. They laughed and said they felt like puppies they have seen riding in cars with their heads out the window. They live on a on a dead-end street so when I got there, I drove a bit faster all the way to the end of the block and back to their house. This has become a reward for good behavior – the puppy drive.

When you get behind the wheel of a car with kids in the back seat, be prepared. Adventure awaits.