Memories of 1992 - 1993	Back to the Current Issue Back to Features
A 20,000 mile sojourn through North America with hubby Steve plus van & trailer by Sharon M. Carter

One of the most comical moments relived during our video tape viewing was experienced while watching the final USA segment. In answer to the question: "What were the best parts of the entire 11-month trip?" Steve emphatically relates: "Laughlin, Nevada, where I had the whole queen-sized bed to myself (a rather elegant hotel room with two queen-sized beds for $16 US), after too many bursitis-causing, cramped months being wedged into one of the trailer's small, twin-sized beds; secondly, food . . . I gotta get some exercise . . . SUCH GOOD FOOD!!"

Steve goes into a riotous description of the taller, grander western trees that he missed seeing in the eastern sections of the country, including the reality of logging trucks hauling something more than palm trees or short, scrawny "branches". These and other precious experiences will live on as reminders of the truly memorable 1992 - 1993 North American sojourn.

Nor will we forget the unfolding of the cherry blossoms and other yellow/orange flowering crops emblazoned in our souls, as we rushed homeward for my graduation in early March 1993.

Beginning in Yuma, Arizona, in January, our eyes beheld the gracefully ripening springtime flora and fauna throughout the climbing latitudes, latitudes stretching northward to those of Canada. Those vistas of ripening almonds, citrus, eucalyptus, willow, asparagus, olives, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, grapes and others remain as vibrant, colourful swatches enhancing the fabric of our patchwork quilt of memories.

My personal trip highlights are difficult to pinpoint - there are so very many! - yet here is a sampling:

• the pistachio ice-cream cone eaten while viewing Pen and Ink prints in Rue St. Denise, and being entranced by the outdoor performers/buskers of Quebec City
• the plates of Atlantic blue mussels and cold lobster salads savoured in Prince Edward Island's Anne of Green Gables, Cavendish countryside
• the extended daily drives around the Virginias, South Carolina and Florida
• the unexpected telephone calls from our nephew, Greg, and our friends, Elaine and Cathy of El Greco Pizza and Pasta in Kelowna, on Christmas Eve in Kissimmee, Florida
• the uniquely furnished Cracker Barrel Restaurant/Gift Shop where we devoured a scrumptious traditional southern meal with Jim Miller and his family, also of Kissimmee, on Christmas Eve day
• the statuesque, peace-inspiring lighthouse admired in Peggy's Cove, Yarmouth, and other eastern coastal regions
• the natural wood houses skirting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, many erected on stilts (new state regulation since the devastation of Hurricane Hugo), most with comical nameplates for easier recognition for seasonal renters
• the letters, cards, photos and newspaper clippings received enroute
• the special one-week memberships in a classy fitness club located in the basement of Ottawa's Carlingwood Mall
• the Burns Brothers and Iron Skillet truck stops in the American southeast
• the opportunity to view a section of the old Highway (Route 66) near Dallas, Texas
• finding out about crawdads and the nuclear power plant near Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• experiencing the exhilaration of toe-sifting sand dunes, particularly those of the Carolinas, Prince Edward Island, Yuma and the California coastline
• the cycling, exercising, hot tubs, pools, brilliant sunshine, new friendships, and long walks in Yuma, Arizona's Country Roads RV Resort
• the casual, ultra friendly ambiance of Chester's Chuckwagon Restaurant, our favourite haunt in Yuma
• the multitudinous, electricity-producing windmills in the Mojave Desert and Palm Springs, California
• the two dozen long stem red/pink roses from our daughter, Mandy, received the night of my university graduation in Vancouver, BC
• the special late night snack supplied afterwards by my brother, Bruce
• the large FTD bouquet/mug/balloon arriving unexpectedly on my birthday, again from Elaine and Cathy
• and, above all, the knowledge that we have family and friends to greet us when we arrived home from our 20,000 mile trip!!

These and others appear as corner squares permanently attached - with ever charming stitches of undulating highways and byways - on our patchwork quilt of remembrances.

Other than the southern poverty and the vaguely disturbing aspects of sterility and fearlessness absorbed while traveling through El Paso, Texas, and adjacent Juarez, Mexico, my negative responses remain relatively minor. A few exceptions are: the horribly depressing, sufficatingly thick smog one encounters in many otherwise outstanding areas of southern and central California; the ugly oil-stained fields of Texas and, in particular, those located under, over, and around Bakersfield, California; and the nerve-wracking high elevations and winter conditions of Interstate 5's Siskyou Pass in the northwest.

There is sadness, moreover, in not feeling comfortable driving through many major cities, Toronto and Montreal included, because, firstly, our van/trailer combo is too cumbersome to park and, secondly, the rampant criminal activities make one nervous. The answer may be to find a rural RV park wherein bus tours are available for touring nearby cities.

Upon reflection, one realizes that without the negative aspects, those of a positive nature would hardly provide a comforting contrast, a contrast so necessary for the soul.