Travel Memories
Recently, I saw a questionnaire asking Americans, how many of the 50 states had they visited. After looking at a map, I calculated that I had visited 42 states. The missing ones? North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nebraska, Vermont and Delaware.
For the next 10 days, we will be able to check South Dakota from the list. We will be taking our annual “sibling” trip along with our spouses. Bob and Deb; Sister Susan and Bob Tanner; my wife and me. Now, all of us (but one) are in our seventies. I’m not gonna name the youngster but she’s my favorite sister-in-law.
Why South Dakota? The August weather up there. Sturgis. Mount Rushmore. The Badlands. Crazy Horse carving. Custer. Wildlife. Chuckwagon outing. In other words, the 3 ladies are planning while the 2 Bob’s and me follow directions.
Traveling and seeing new areas has always been appealing. By the way, my wife’s middle name is “GO.” Many visits have been memorable while others like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time was summed up by my over-sensitive Dad: “If you’ve seen one ditch you’ve seen them all. Let’s head on to California to see the Dodgers play the Cardinals.”
Some of my “visits” were quick stopovers while coaching and recruiting at the University of Louisville. Howard Schnellenberger was quoted as saying: “We will play anyone, anywhere at any time.” That’s how I visited Wyoming, Kansas, and West Virginia. We also played at Boston College, Texas, Arizona State, San Jose, North Carolina, Army at West Point, Navy at Annapolis, Ohio State, Virginia, Florida State, and Tulane. My first assignment was to fly into Seattle and scout Purdue who was playing the University of Washington. I know it’s not politically correct to comment about the Washington coeds back then, so I will quote Barney Fife: “I’m not calling them dogs but If a quail flew through there, all of them would point.” Yes, it was raining the whole time.
Visiting the University of Wyoming, they tried to intimidate the opposing team with signs everywhere in the stadium: “Welcome to War Memorial Stadium. Elevation 7,222 feet. The highest stadium in America.” I must admit that the thin air would have beaten us except Schnellenberger’s 3 a day camp took care of the conditioning.
My quick stop in Alaska was in 1989 when we (Louisville) playing Syracuse in Tokyo, Japan. Our L-10-11 plane stopped in Anchorage to refuel and we all got out to say we had visited Alaska. The stuffed polar bear in the terminal was massive.
My first trip to Hawaii was in 1985 while on the staff at Alabama, we played Southern Cal in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas. That was the first and last Christmas, I was ever away from my boys on Christmas Day. This was my first time visiting a sushi restaurant. I can remember Coach Sam Bailey telling the server: “In Alabama, we call that bait.” I thought Coach Clem Gryska was going to fall out of his chair.
I recall traveling with the family through New Mexico in our non-air-conditioned station wagon in 1961 on our way to visit our Lichty cousins in California. The radiator ran hot and Daddy was making up new cuss words. A trucker stopped and had extra water in a cooler. He filled the radiator and we made it to the next service station. Daddy got gas and checked the radiator and added some antifreeze. One problem: he forgot to put the cap back on. About 15 miles in the desert, the steam was blowing everywhere.
Naturally, he wanted to blame somebody else in the car but Mother in her best calming voice said: “YOU are the one who insisted on putting the antifreeze in instead of letting the attendant at the station do it.” More cussing ensued. Thankfully, another trucker saved us again. That’s why in my travels, when New Mexico is brought up, I think of a steamed radiator.
My first trip to Arkansas was to visit with Susan and Bob Tanner, shortly after my first niece, Jennifer, was born in 1980. She was born in Hope, Arkansas, about the same time that Chelsea Clinton was born there. Bob was working for Reynold’s Aluminum in their Gurdon plant. Later, I remember visiting Jonesboro, Arkansas and being amazed at all the rice fields. Of course, ducks were everywhere.
Quick memories for other states:
In 1986, we (Alabama) opened the season by beating Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic in the Meadowlands, outside of New York. You talking about country comes to town. A memory, other than the win, was that the hosts took our entire football team and staff to lunch on the top floor of the World Trade Center. In September of 2001, as the towers came down, I thought back on that meal, fifteen years earlier.
While coaching at Louisville, we played Army at West Point in New York. In addition to the historical buildings, watching the disciplined cadets on campus made an impact on our players. Since the game was in October, we saw hundreds of cars, slowing down to take pictures of the fall-colored leaves. They were beautiful.
Susan’s goal a couple of years ago on our sibling trip to New England, was to eat lobster in 4 different states. We did that in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. We ended up on Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Last year was my first visit to Wisconsin. We met my bonus daughter, Ashley and her husband Cody, in Door County. I know I sometimes make jokes about how early it gets cold up north. Well, I experienced it. It was Labor Day and they were getting ready to “winterize” the cabins. We slept under quilts with a fire in the fireplace for heat, in a log cabin on the banks of Lake Michigan.
As kids, we watched the western “Have Gun Will Travel.”
For us:
“Have Suitcase Will Travel.”