Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo
My family took a lot of vacations - mostly by car, a white Lincoln Continental that was my father’s fortieth birthday present to himself. Washington DC, Williamsburg, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Newport - those were the biggies. While the rest of my classmates took road trips down I-75 to Florida, we stuck to New England and the mid-Atlantic, learning about our country’s history instead of collecting sea shells.
But the childhood road trip that is most prominent in my memory took place when I was twelve. I had flown out to Phoenix by myself to visit my favorite aunt Linda (Herman Anne’s mother, before she was a mother), only to discover that instead of flying back a week later, I’d be driving back to Ohio with Linda and her dog, two cats, and whatever possessions that the movers weren’t going to transport.
Linda had a white Mustang, and while it did have a backseat, the animals roamed the car throughout the trip. No litter box; instead, we put leashes on the cats at each rest stop. And each time before she started the car, we had to locate both cats to ensure they hadn’t crawled up by the gas and brake pedals.
We stayed at pet-friendly motels, but even so, we had to sneak the cats into the room because pet-friendly usually means a single pet is allowed, not a threesome. And then we had to be sure that we didn’t leave any of the doors open so that they didn’t sneak out. In one motel, we brought in the cats and went back out to retrieve our own luggage, but were unable to find one of the cats when we returned to the room. We searched for a good fifteen minutes before we noticed the lump in the middle of the bed, underneath the bedspread. She had clawed her way under there without creating so much as a wrinkle in the spread.
As much as I enjoyed the company of my favorite aunt Linda, the drive was mind-numbing. Middle America doesn’t have particularly varied scenery, and except for a stop in Dallas, we didn’t hit many happening places. Personally, I was happy to stay in motels and eat at TGI Fridays, but getting there most certainly was not half the fun.
However, Dallas played an important role in our trip. Not the city, but the TV show. Our trip took place back in the days when Dallas was the top nighttime drama - after Kristin shot JR, but before Pam dreamed an entire season (lame lame lame lame LAME!).
Linda’s view was that I was along for company, and that company shouldn’t sleep, so I was expected to stay awake. And in order to keep ourselves awake, we sang the theme song from Dallas. Over and over and over again. Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo…everybody now!
I’ve told Herman Anne about the Dallas theme, but I don’t know if she’s ever sung it in the car with her mother. And I haven’t yet introduced my girls to it because I don’t yet mind if they sleep while I’m driving. If they’re sleeping, they’re quiet.
But I’ll never forget that trip. The sightseeing was minimal and the food was franchise-only, but it was a perfect pre-teen adventure and the company couldn’t have been better.
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September 28th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
[…] Doo Doo, Doo Doo, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo […]
September 28th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I cannot remember the theme to Dallas. I suspect that is a good thing though because if you could sing it over and over and over … it must be one that gets stuck in your brain! And I hate that!
Sounds like a nice memory though!
September 28th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
OMG - guess what is stuck in my head now - HA! I really loved reading this trip down memory lane - thanks mothergoosemouse