A bygone era, goodbye America
The American family road trip is critically endanged, dying on the vine before our very eyes and yet no one seems concerned. A fast paced world with FB at our fingertips via cell phones, children with double-booked activity schedules and the like, have made flying- if going anywhere at all- ideal. Add in gas prices inflating along with hotel costs and it spells the end of the great American road trip.
I just completed a road trip of over 2,000 miles- halfway up CA, through desolate N. Nevada, Utah, S. Wyoming, and kind of a diagonal cut through CO. I saw very very very few families, in fact, I recall only one but then I wasn't looking for families, I was looking at scenery. Nevertheless, families and even younger generations don't road trip. We met a few nice couples, all in their 70s and beyond, and some younger Dutch or Japanese travellers.
The end of road trips spells the end of America, a legend, a lifestyle, a learning experience.
How can one appreciate America, have pride in this great country, if you just fly over it?
You can't meet someone in a small town scraping together to make ends meet, proud of where they come from. You can't see mother nature's beauty that is beyond comprehension. You miss great stories of your journey. You can't appreciate the simple joy of curiousity- what is around that bend? What kind of weather created that erosion? When did that volcano last erupt? Why would anyone live here?
It is sad because we lose so much, more than I can even explain, by losing our road trips.
I just completed a road trip of over 2,000 miles- halfway up CA, through desolate N. Nevada, Utah, S. Wyoming, and kind of a diagonal cut through CO. I saw very very very few families, in fact, I recall only one but then I wasn't looking for families, I was looking at scenery. Nevertheless, families and even younger generations don't road trip. We met a few nice couples, all in their 70s and beyond, and some younger Dutch or Japanese travellers.
The end of road trips spells the end of America, a legend, a lifestyle, a learning experience.
How can one appreciate America, have pride in this great country, if you just fly over it?
You can't meet someone in a small town scraping together to make ends meet, proud of where they come from. You can't see mother nature's beauty that is beyond comprehension. You miss great stories of your journey. You can't appreciate the simple joy of curiousity- what is around that bend? What kind of weather created that erosion? When did that volcano last erupt? Why would anyone live here?
It is sad because we lose so much, more than I can even explain, by losing our road trips.
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