Road Trip!!!

“On the road again,
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again And I cant wait to get on the road again…
Thirteen months after house arrest in Covid world, I ventured out on a two week road trip to Texas. MK and I had our grandson Matias in the back seat, and we took a 789 mile drive to return him home after a Spring Break in Colorado. If given the choice, I would always rather drive than fly. I stopped counting my trips between Colorado and Oklahoma after I hit 120. In my 11 years in the San Luis Valley I did over 400 trips over La Veta Pass on highway #160. Yes, I love to drive. When you go some place in a car you get to be in a world that slows down. Some of the best conversations I have ever had were on road trips.
In 1991 we took our family and my sister Rita and her son, on a 8800 mile round trip to Alaska. My son Mateo who at the time was 14, and coined the daily quoted phrase “Why Alaska”, said a while back it was one of the greatest experiences of his growing up.
Okay, now I am going to give some props to Texas. As a native Coloradan you soon learn that Texans are a huge irritant. They invade your state in the summer and brag about Texas, and then during the winter holidays they show up in mass at your favorite ski resorts. My daughter Amy said during her young adult years, that she would never marry a blonde, blue eyed, single child from Texas. Christian Piatt fits all four categories. He is aces. Texas in April is what New England must be like in Autumn. The wild flowers are beyond description. Every color known to creation grace the roadways, fields and meadows.
Granbury, Texas where the Piatts live, is bucolic, beautiful, interesting, historic and fun. Every day on the road was a true vacation. We heard

great music, and Granbury has the best vegan Mexican restaurant I could imagine. I went to a Dallas Mavericks game with Christian and friends and had a blast. Last Saturday we went to Waxahachie to the “Scarborough Fair”, a giant festival where many come in Medieval gear. I had no idea there are that many nerds in Texas. I completely humiliated myself at the axe throw where on my first heave I hit the ceiling beam. “Sir, please slow down”.
Next month it’s Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and New Mexico!!! In California we will celebrate granddaughter Sofia’s second birthday.
My travels in the future mostly will be road trips in the USA. Every state has wonderful things to see and do. “This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land”
Onward and Upward, Mark