FAMILY TRIP MEMORIES

Boy, this site brought back some great memories! For those of you who have an adventurous nature or who are wondering what to do this summer, check out the Roadside America website. It’s tagline reads "Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions" and it's full of wonderful, kitschy & strange places and items from all over the USA. You can search by state or type of attraction and there's sure to be something for everyone.

I just spent hours surfing through it's pages and haven't seen everything yet. The site includes comments from folks who have "been there, done that", tips about what to skip or if a site is handicapped accessible and accommodations nearby in case you want to make an extended road trip. There are home videos or pictures of lots of the attractions and maps with instructions on how to reach anything that you might want to see.

I miss the days when Mom, Dad and the kids would load up in the family car and go see the sights. One of my fondest memories is Dad loading up Mom and all 5 of us girls (can't remember how old I was but it was young) and taking us south to see the Lightning Portrait of Henry Wells in Carrollton (Dad ran up on it while in South 'Bama on a deer hunting trip and just had to show it to us!).

The story goes that as Wells peered out the garret window, a bolt of lightning struck nearby and permanently etched his terrified expression into the window pane and I swear we all saw the face! (OK, Donna and Tina, y'all back me up here!)

We stood on the lawn in front of that old courthouse forever; gaping up at the window in question, competing to see who could make out the most detail and arguing over if it was real or a fake.

I can still picture it in my mind; all of us kids peering up and shading our eyes with our hands, fussing among ourselves while Mom tried to make us behave. Dad (young, handsome, and still fit & trim at that time) just stood there laughing at his brood of women, proud of himself for coming up with something so unique; all the way down there we were accusing him of pulling our collective legs. Ghostly faces in windows, just how gullible did he think we were!

Dang these memories make me miss my parents more than ever. I only hope I'm helping the Grandmonster to create memories like this so that when I'm gone he'll look back and think of me with a smile, maybe even telling his kids a few stories of the wonderful things that he and his Nana did together.

Check out the site, it's a hoot and you just might find something local that will spike the desire to load up your family & friends and do a little traveling yourself! Then fill up the tank before going out on the road and make a few memories of your own.......