Before cars with dvd players, lap top computers, smart phones and so on it must have pretty boring riding in the car with your parents. (Especially if you were one of those who got carsick when trying to read). Are We There Yet: the Golden Age of American Family Vacations, by Susan Sessions Rugh not only repeats the mantra of so many kids, but is also the title to an insightful book about vacations of the past. Where did we go and why? There is a thoughtful and sobering chapter on where Black Americans went, and how they were treated. (Also, see the article "Driving While Black", by Jacinda Townsend, in the April 2016 Smithsonian).

Even though I prefer not to travel, I've always been intrigued by just how much will fit into those house trailers I see being pulled down the road. For author Phil Noyes that interest became an obsession which became the book Trailerama. Full of old pictures, postcards, advertising fliers as well as toys, games and accessories, this is a celebration of the vacation home that went with the family. Definitely worth two cups of tea!

It seems to have started with a simple idea ... a woman bought an old trailer, refurbished it, and went fly fishing. Soon there were several, then dozens, and now hundreds. Fly fishing is not a requirement! Sisters on the Fly: Caravans, Campfires, and Tales from the Road, by Irene Rawlings shares the history of this wonderful group of wandering women. There are chapters on how to find a vintage trailer, and what is needed to tow it (some are small enough for a VW Beetle). There are fun chapters on how to decorate it, and recipes (using a Dutch Oven or an iron skillet) that sound good enough to try indoors. This was a wonderful celebration of road trips, friendship, and more.

Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small-Town America, by Bill Geist was a charming read. There are train tracks (unused) where a crowd gathers each year on the summer solstice, and the town where lost luggage finally ends up. There's a competition between two towns for the coldest spot in the U.S., and, something that might sound familiar, the little town at the bottom of the Grand Canyon where the mail is delivered by mule train. :-) (See the February 7, 2015 post).

There are a lot of abandoned gas stations in Washington State! You can see them in Readymades: American Roadside Artifacts with photographs by Jeff Brouws, along with barns, trailers and signs. There's also a wonderful chapter on the 'rebirth' of one of the first tract homes neighborhoods where they may all look similar in design, but NOT in color!

The first transcontinental highway across the U.S. was the Lincoln Highway. It stretches from New York to San Francisco. ("From the bright lights of Broadway to the foggy shores of San Francisco." What an image!) The idea came from the same man, Carl G. Fischer, who was the founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Like Route 66, it was surpassed by the newer, wider, straighter freeways (with little character) we know today. The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast From Times Square to the Golden Gate, by Michael Wallis and Michael S. Williamson is a great read about the highway and some of the people you might have met on your travels. I loved the pictures of mules pulling the equipment needed to pave the original road! For a short few blocks, in a small town in Illinois, the Lincoln Highway and Route 66 were one road.

Other road trip books may be found in the posts of May 17, 2014 and August 15 and September 15, 2015.

Reading Hermit With Dog