A road less traveled...

"To really see Americana, to see sights not commonly seen, to smell the sweet aroma of country air, to listen to the quiet, one must get off the highways and onto the byways."

Many years ago when our kids were young, vacation season for the family started right after Memorial Day was over. The final countdown for the remaining school days and then BAM, it started. The only problem with that plan was it was everyone else's plan also. Just about everyplace we would go, there would be families and kids galore.

Now that we are retired, vacation time starts right after Labor Day. We like this plan for a great many reasons. First and most importantly, the kids (who are not home schooled) are back in school. Traffic is less, people are less, and the weather can be nothing short of spectacular.

I can always tell when the travel pangs start to hit. They are hitting today. I tell my wife I am starting to feel "lusty" - as in travel lust. In other words, the truck is gassed up, stuff is packed and it is time to go. Which direction? It all depends on the mood of the moment. Our preference is usually north or west in the fall. This winter? Definitely south!

Oh, there is one more thing which is of the highest importance. A road less traveled. To really see Americana, to see sights not commonly seen, to smell the sweet aroma of country air, to listen to the quiet, one must get off the highways and onto the byways. There are times to turn the GPS off and just go with the flow. 

Many years ago when I was at United Defense, my partner from Lockheed Martin was coming into town for a program review at our Aberdeen, South Dakota plant. The plan was for him to fly in, meet up at the airport, and then fly to Aberdeen together. A couple days before the trip, my friend called me up. "Change of plans. Do you think we could drive to Aberdeen instead? And not take a highway, but rather the back roads?" 

So we did it. And it was a ball. We left Minneapolis and took the road less traveled. We stopped to take to farmers. We had coffee in little "greasy spoons" in the middle of nowhere. Most importantly, we took our sweet time in getting to Aberdeen.

Once the program review was over, my friend flew back to the east coast and I drove home by myself. But my friend talked about that trip for months, maybe years afterward. He loved it. I loved it. And it taught me an important lesson about taking the road less traveled. 

As Labor Day approaches, the plans are already cooking in the back of my mind. When to go, how long to go, and what to do. The route to be taken? Unknown at this time. All I know is this - it will be the byways and not the highways for much of the trip. Truly, the road less traveled.