We would pile all we could in the Chevy Station Wagon, light blue in color and no air conditioning, and head south. Mom and Dad would leave very early in the mornin
g, putting blankets down in the back so my sister and I could sleep for a few more hours. Didn't really work, but the thought was there. We picnicked along the route in a way-side park, with cement benches and cement tables under big pine trees for shade. Now you must remember that this was pre-Interstate travel! No I-75 or I-95 heading in the fast lane to the Magic Kingdom. No, this was small 2 lane highway, Hwy 441, heading through fields of corn, pastures with cattle and swamps.
Sandwiches were had from the big red metal Coca Cola Cooler filled with block ice and pimento cheese, cereal, milk and a jug of fresh brewed sweet tea. Not too sweet and no lemon.
With the windows rolled down, we headed into the late August heat to spend 2 weeks on the beach and celebrate my 8th birthday. A friend of Mom's made my cake, not as good as Mom's but good. For some reason she put white sugar birds on the cake. Have never known why, but there they were in all their sugary glory with 8 candles between them.
Good memories of a more relaxed time. No waiting in airports, no flying down the intestate at break-neck speeds, no hurrying through fast food places for hamburgers and cokes. So now when I head to Florida, I think of that trip in 1959 and smile as I remember the fun we had playing games in the car, sweating with no a/c and loving the taste of the pimento cheese sandwiches followed by homemade brownies and Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum as a special treat.
Create your own family memories today. It's the journey that counts not the destination. Have fun and roll the windows down on the back roads. Watch out for the mosquitoes!
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