Open Road

I drive myself all over Texas and other states as well.  I live for my next road trip, planning, saving and keeping up with vehicle maintenance.  I smile and shrug when friendly strangers look at me with deep concern "you are traveling by yourself?".

Maybe I am more comfortable on the open road then most and maybe it is because every summer my Dad took us on a family vacation.   My Mother's job was to research Texas Highways Magazine for fun sights along the way and using our rotary phone had Texas Parks and Wildlife mail information about state park facilities.    Our GPS was a cool compass glued to the dash of the family Rambler and the nice "you can trust your car to the man who wears the star" gas station attendant provided us with a huge paper road map that only Dad could refold properly.

I have to say I do miss the Texaco man.  He checked our oil,  cleaned our windshield with a smile and once even ran hollering across the road as he realized my parents had left me behind. But that's another story.

I can tell you Texas and New Mexico have great Rest Areas with clean bathrooms and picnic tables.  A few days ago I stopped at a rest area in west Texas that  had security provided by the man of steel-Superman.  So random, I guess some kid left his Superman toy but maybe not so random.  I know I felt a little safer.  Till next time.  kisses