Road trips are best embarked upon before dawn. If not, you'll miss the sunrise. As a morning person, beating the sun out of bed is the best way to start a road trip adventure.
I love a road trip - probably because the few vacations we had as children were road trips from Joeys (Johannesburg) to Durbs (Durban). Our family would be up before the sparrows. The darkness and coolness of the pre-dawn air heightened the anticipation of our trip to the seaside. Four children and two parents would bundle into the car for the six hour ride.
I loved the quietness of the suburban streets, the light of the streetlamps reflecting off the road and the slumbering homes. As we drove through the streets of our town (70kms east of Johannesburg), I was quietly excited knowing that when the rest of the town awoke we would be gone - well on our way to adventure!
It wouldn't be too far into the trip and Mom would pull out the first treat - biltong (better than beef jerky!). There's much to be said for not growing up with plenty but with just enough. Summer vacations away weren't a right or an annual expectation, but an unexpected delight. Treats were just that, treats. I savoured my biltong as we rolled by the quiet dark countryside.
I loved the gradual awakening of the sun, the movement from darkness through shades of grey and pink and orange to sunlight. Our town was waking and we were gone!
I love a road trip - probably because the few vacations we had as children were road trips from Joeys (Johannesburg) to Durbs (Durban). Our family would be up before the sparrows. The darkness and coolness of the pre-dawn air heightened the anticipation of our trip to the seaside. Four children and two parents would bundle into the car for the six hour ride.
I loved the quietness of the suburban streets, the light of the streetlamps reflecting off the road and the slumbering homes. As we drove through the streets of our town (70kms east of Johannesburg), I was quietly excited knowing that when the rest of the town awoke we would be gone - well on our way to adventure!
It wouldn't be too far into the trip and Mom would pull out the first treat - biltong (better than beef jerky!). There's much to be said for not growing up with plenty but with just enough. Summer vacations away weren't a right or an annual expectation, but an unexpected delight. Treats were just that, treats. I savoured my biltong as we rolled by the quiet dark countryside.
I loved the gradual awakening of the sun, the movement from darkness through shades of grey and pink and orange to sunlight. Our town was waking and we were gone!
Even now, I count down the sleeps to my next road trip. Just six sleeps until we head south for a road trip to the seaside - Cannon Beach, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest will replace the African countryside; it will be two of us instead of six and we can't take any treats across the border. But, we will rise before the sparrows and hope to have a clear sky so as to better watch the unfolding of the sunrise.
