Wednesday Medley: Road Trip edition

Wednesday again, and time for the Wednesday Medley hosted by Terri at Your Friend from Florida.  This week's Medley has a fun theme, as Terri is basing the questions off National Road Trip Day, this coming Friday.  Road trips are fun, and this Medley sounds like fun too, so why not head over to Terri's and get the the questions to answer them on your own blog? 

1.  Have you ever done a spur-of-the-moment road trip?  Where did it take you?

I'm sure we've done that more than once,  but one that stands out in my mind is a day when our girls were young teens and it was a pouring down rain type of day.  It was either a Saturday or a vacation day -- probably a vacation day, now that I think about it, as Mr. T worked most Saturdays back then.  We wanted to take a road trip but the weather was not at all conducive.  Mr. T suggested that we take a drive to the very tip-top of New Hampshire, where none of us had ever been.  So we got in the car and just headed up there.  No snacks, even, as I recall.  We stopped in Colebrook, the largest town up there, and had lunch at the Wilderness Restaurant.  

Then we drove on and saw the Connecticut Lakes and turned around before getting to Canada, if I remember right.  I'm pretty sure it never did stop raining!  But it was a fun trip, mostly because it was so unplanned.  Below is a very blurry photo of the second Connecticut Lake.

 Now the trip to the Great North Woods has become more familiar as we've traveled up there many times to stay in a favorite cabin on Back Lake.  But it's always a wonderful getaway -- and the Wilderness Restaurant is still a good place to eat!  Its sign still looks the same also.  Below is a sunset on Back Lake. 

2.  If time and money wasn't an issue, what roads would you choose to travel and how long would you be gone?

We have talked about this more times than I can count.   We would love to take a road trip all across the USA and visit friends (and blog friends!) all along the way.  We would be gone for as long as it took!  A train trip across the US would be fun also, the type of trip where you can get off the train along the way and get back on a day or two later, if Amtrak still offers that option.  But I think we would really prefer the road trip.  Lord willing, it will be a retirement project!

3.  When you go on a long road trip, what snacks and beverages do you take?  Do you pack a picnic? Does the back seat turn into a nest? 

We nearly always take trail mix.   Sometimes a picnic.  Usually water to drink, but with us a road trip pretty much always involves at least one stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee or iced coffee, depending upon the weather.  Our most recent vehicles have been an SUV and a minivan, and with both of those we can pretty much contain the travel gear to the cargo area where it doesn't get too disorganized.

4.  Please tell us about something interesting or strange you have seen on the side of the road. 
A few times we traveled in upper Michigan at night.  There were deer literally lining the sides of the highway and grazing on the grass there and in the median.  That was just plain scary.

One of the neatest sights we have seen on the side of the road was a moose we saw a few years ago who seemed to be posing for us!  These photos were taken as we rode by and are not the best, but you get the idea.

 

The sights below are both from a trip to Freeport, Maine a few years back.

 

5.  Who does the driving when you head out in the car?  Do you stop in the rest areas along our Interstate highways when you have to use the facilities, or do you choose a fast-food restaurant or gas station instead?  Not TMI... inquiring minds want to know!

Mr. T does the driving.  We usually do stop at the state rest areas when traveling the interstates, unless it happens to be mealtime.  Ideally, then, we would find a Cracker Barrel.  

Check out a couple of our amazing New Hampshire state rest stops and welcome centers here:  The Common Man Roadside.  You will be surprised at how nice these are and how well they represent our state.  The photos below show a covered bridge that is built inside one of these welcome centers. 

 Meanwhile, on the other side of the country (more or less) the photos below are from the Schellbourne roadside stop in Nevada back in 2016, I believe.  Lots of fascinating information there about the  Pony Express and local Indian history as well.

 On secondary roads, we might stop at a gas station/convenience store, a fast-food place or a Dunkin' Donuts.  And one time, out West, an Indian grocery store, which was a very nice and well-stocked supermarket with the only public restrooms for miles around.  There were lines!

6.  Please share something with us about your week so far.

It's had its share of weather extremes!  Hot and humid Monday with periods of torrential rain.  Today (Tuesday as I write this) it's windy and very cold.  I felt as if I had a very productive day at home yesterday, which is quite unusual for a Monday.  Three loads of laundry done and put away, supper made, blog post written, work on my Sunday School lesson and a craft project -- and no doubt more that I can't think of right now.

Are you planning a road trip for Memorial Day weekend?  We aren't, but we hope to take one soon!