“Are we nearly there yet?”
How many times as kids did we ask this question of our parents during inexcusably long car journeys?
When it came time for my own children to ask me the very same, my answer was no different to the one given me by my parents:
“Almost there, not far now!”
I think of long car journeys often. As with many of you, I’ve taken a few and not just as a child. One or two have defined me, who I was and who I am today, the memories of which burn from a lamp that has never gone out.
As I keep on keeping on writing my memoir, these defining moments leap up at me from the ‘paper’.
As the flow of the story pours forth, moving images play out before me. It is as if I’m narrating, through the written word, while watching a film. The colour of the stills are somewhat muted, as with the slight yellowing of the pages of a well-read book, yet, with every word I write, a sort of restoration work takes place: the film becomes as vivid and as vital as if I am watching it for the very first time.
August 1979. I am nineteen and crammed in the back of a dark blue Plymouth Roadrunner sitting next to my American G. I. boyfriend. Other friends are squeezed either side of us and another drives us deeper into the wilderness, his long, black hair dancing in the wind through his open window. His pride and joy doesn’t have air conditioning, but he does have a mean 8-track. Los Angeles is far behind us, having left it at the crack of dawn. Now, as dawn breaks into day, the repressive heat stirs up the wind as it whips my hair across my face and it stings. The deep rumble of the V8 engine merges with Eddie Van Halen’s guitar riffs exploding from the 8-track’s speakers as we gun it across the Mojave Desert. Only we exist: us and the open road, slashed like a knife-cut through the vastness of a lonely, heat-crazed terrain. In the back, we grab chilled beer bottles out of an ice-chest, crack them open and drink. We sing stupidly at the top of our lungs and collapse in heaps of laughter. Las Vegas beckons and it won’t be long before I’ll be shaking hands with the fiercest heat I’ve ever known. I couldn’t possibly have known it then that I would return to Las Vegas one year later under dire circumstances. All I did know, for this English girl and her first time in America, was what it felt like to be truly alive. I had escaped for the briefest of moments. We were young, we were crazy and we were as free as we would ever be again.
Last week, Eldest son, Aspie D and I watched the most amazing lightning as it flashed across the heavy Somerset skies. Thunder rolled and heavy rain lashed down, a welcome relief to the stifling humidity of a British summer. Never was the rain more welcome; I relish spontaneous moments like that.
Sometimes we just want to be free. Moonstone Beach, Cambria, California
(c) Sherri Matthews 2013
Sometimes though, we want to leave the rain behind for the smile of the sun on our weary faces.
I’m not heading to the desert any time soon, by car or by horse, and I certainly don’t plan on roping any rattlesnakes (but Charli, if I do, I’ll be sure to put it on YouTube), but I am setting out.
Sometimes we need to catch our breath and feel the wind in our hair and just let go. This will be my last blog post for a couple of weeks but I’ll be hanging around for the next day or so checking in with you as much as time allows and as best I can.
I’ll be unplugged for one whole week and I’m not sure how I’ll cope…I’m already having withdrawal just thinking about it. Cold sweats and everything…
I’ll miss you all very much, so please just make sure you’ll still be here when I get back! Meanwhile, I would like to leave you with a memory of a certain desert, a piece of ‘America’ and a piece of my heart:
Wishing you all a great summer (and a not too cold winter to my friends on the other side of the world) wherever you go and whatever you do.
See you soon !
~ Love Sherri x ~
A View From My Summerhouse 
One of my all time favourite bits of music, Cherri. Have fun being unplugged.
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oops, sorry … Sherri. [blush]
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Thanks very much Christine, see you when I get back and no problem, it happens a lot, believe me 😉
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Thanks for being so gracious! 🙂
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🙂
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Lovely memories, Sherri and what a great song. 🙂 Enjoy your week of being unplugged. See you soon. Take care. xx
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It’s one of my all time favourites Sylvia and brings back so many great memories! Thanks so much and I hope your move goes well. When I next ‘see’ you, you’ll be in Florida!! 🙂 ❤ xx
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We’ll still be here for a few weeks, in a lovely rented apartment just a few yards down the road. We return to Florida some time in September, via England, where we will stay for a few days with Hubby’s 101-year-old Mom. 🙂
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Ahh…that’s nice to break it up like that and so glad you get to spend a few days in Jolly Old with your mom-in-law (I remember your post, 101, wow!!!). Enjoy your apartment 🙂
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Beautiful memories Sherri!
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Thanks so much Andy 🙂
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I can totally relate to this post of yours, Sherri. Are we there yet? I actually never said this to my parents on long car rides as a kid, but these days when I’m traveling with a friend, I will always ask them this. It’s as if I’m a kid now, now that I’m an “adult”! I’m sure it drives them nuts. Happy travels and I’m sure being umplugged won’t be bad at all…you’ll probably experience something really nice and when you’re back, you’ll be able to share it with us. No matter what we do, be it sitting in an office all day or walking around our neighbourhood to pass the time, there is always another world out there 🙂
Very nice to hear that you memoir is coming along. Can’t wait to read it once it’s out. And if you do publish it in print, I want a signed copy 😉 Very inspiring, Sherri. I hope to start writing my first book soon 🙂
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…’there is always another world out there’… Absolutely, and it’s great that you are able to seek out these experiences no matter where you are. Bloom where you’re planted, I always say and I certainly look forward to sharing all these experiences here 🙂
Thanks so much Mabel, that is very kind of you. I do intend to publish in print, at least that is my goal and I am truly honoured that you would want a signed copy! I do hope I don’t disappoint… 😛 I’m very excited for your book writing dreams and I wish you every success. I’ll see you soon, enjoy your summer and keep on keeping on 🙂 x
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I loved your car journey memory…it is lovely to think back on such journeys, that at the time we had no idea what they would mean, how hey would truly define…this is such a wonderful post I love it.
I hope you have a good break and come back sufficiently refreshed…we shall all miss you.
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Ahh…that’s so lovely of you Ste, thank you very much and it is nice to be missed, I admit! I love that you enjoyed this post. As we’ve said before, you never know if anyone else will be interested, and especially since I’m going back to the 70’s here, but when a moment in time is so defining, and the story it tells so many years later reminds us of the person we are today, we can see with so much more clarity just how defining it was even though at the time we were utterly clueless.
I’ll catch up with you as soon as I return (finishing up here today and I feel quite forlorn about that) but until then, I hope the next couple of weeks are kind to you 🙂
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Enjoy your break… whenever I’m in the car with my kids and sitting in the back seat I ask the same question….- over and over – … just so I’m sure they know how it feels….
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Love that Bulldog…payback is a beautiful thing, haha! Thanks so much, I’ll catch up with you when I get back and hope things are going well with you in the meantime… 🙂
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I was listening to Horse With No Name only a couple of hours ago. One of my all-time favourites!
Sherri, it’s going to feel like my big sister has left home! I can’t remember me ever being here when you were not; how shall I cope? Still though, I hope you enjoy your holiday. I imagine it will last a lifetime without any technology! Be liberated by it… we shall all be here when you get back, looking forward to more storytimes and high-jinks!
Bon voyage! 🙂
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What a great coincidence that is JG! it’s one of my all-time favourites, I listen to it quite often on my iPod, especially when I’m out walking…that and Ventura Highway. Never get tired of those 🙂
Ahh…that’s so sweet, really it is. Don’t worry little bruv, I won’t be gone long and you’ll have JJJ 😀 I know I missed you a lot when you were ‘gone’ and it’s really lovely to know that you will all be here when I get back. I hope I don’t forget how to blog, haha
It will be so strange being unplugged for a week. This is my last day here until I get back and it feels really strange, wrapping up like this, tidying up the summerhouse, making sure everything is in order before I leave. Crazy isn’t it? Still, I’m sure it will be good to have a break, things have been a little fraught around these parts…
Nothing like a time of refreshment and re-engergising for inspiration for more shenanigans and high-jinks…and hopefully one or two stories thrown in the mix!
Take care JG, I hope that the next couple of weeks are good to you (and it feels cooler this morning, thank goodness!) thanks so much as always and see you soon 🙂
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Sherri, have a great time! I ALSO LOVE ‘A HORSE WITH NO NAME’. We have that CD. I listen to it on my iPod a lot. I was 18 in the summer or 1979. I turned 19 that December! 🙂
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Hi Patsy! I’ll think of you now whenever I listen to it on my iPod, great song 🙂 We can sing along together 🙂 x
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This is an excellent memoir excerpt. The wild excitement and exhuberance of youth and freedom jump off the page.
Have a refreshing time out. See you when you come back. 😀 ❤
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I’m thrilled to know this Tess, and I thank you so very much! Woo hoo…great encouragement this, really love that you ‘felt’ it. I didn’t know how I was going to write this post initially and it just sort of ended up like this. Funny how that happens isn’t it? Looking forward to catching up with you when I get back (but I’ll pop over to you in a mo to catch your latest Bejing experience before singing off!) and I hope you have a good couple of weeks too. See you soon 😀 ❤ 🙂
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Have a wonderful vacation. I’ll keep the home fires burning.
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Ahh…thanks so much Tess, so lovely to return home and know you kept those home fires burning…no wonder I feel so glad to be back 😛 ❤
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Ah, youth. You have some great memories to look back on Sherri, amongst those tinged with sadness. I felt as though I was in that car with you singing at the top of my lungs! Bon voyage, mon amie xx
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Great to have you singing along Jude 🙂 As I said to Tess, I’m thrilled to know that you ‘felt’ it, especially, as you well know, I do tend to write ‘between the lines’…but it’s great to be able remember those totally freeing times, when absolutely nothing else mattered..*big sigh*… !
I hope you have a good next couple of weeks and enjoy some great weather, with a bit less humidity though please! Look forward to catching up when I get back, merci beaucoup mon amie 😀 ❤ xx
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Great memory Sherri, very exotic for someone who grew up in Northern England! But, it’s a wonderful piece of writing, you really conjure up that spirit of freedom and excitement of youth. Have a great week off, I’m sure you’ll come back refreshed and raring to go…
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Ahh, well, I certainly had no idea I would be driving to Las Vegas when I was 19, especially growing up in rural Suffolk 😉 Andrea, I’m delighted that you enjoyed this memoir so much and as I said to Tess and Jude, so encouraged that you were able to ‘get’ the feel of it. I didn’t really plan on writing it for this post but it felt right and so when I get feedback like this it really does confirm that I did the right thing. Thank you so, so much!! I hope you have a good next couple of weeks too and I’ll see you soon… 🙂 x
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Going offline for more than a couple of weeks will cause genuine withdrawal pains, Sherri. But you will survive…and write wonderful words that will become wonderful stories, and all scratched onto paper instead of typed into a computer.
I love this account of your adventure to Vegas. Our only trip to Vegas was the summer of ’88 when the heat broke its own records. I remember stepping out of the Mirage Hotel where we were staying and “hitting the wall” of heat that was 122 degrees. The bottoms of our shoes were sucked into the soft asphalt of the parking lot. Now it’s funny and the family jokes about it. Then, driving across the desert in that heat was nerve-racking. We passed several abandoned vehicles that had overheated.
Go forth and write, dear Sherri. Enjoy the adventure!
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Oh Marylin, I’m already having withdrawal! It feels surreal checking in today for the last time before signing off for a couple of weeks, really does, but yes, you are right, I’m sure I will benefit from it and I am making sure to take plenty of paper and pens with me 🙂 The only problem is my handwriting is so atrocious these days…! Still, hopefully all this will add to a burst of creativity 🙂
I’m delighted that you enjoyed this read Marylin. These memories come back to the surface as I write about them in more depth in my book and then being able to touch on them here is a great encouragement. Thank you so much as always for that.
Oh yes, I know just what you mean. I remember that feeling the first time I got to Vegas and stepping out of the air conditioned hotel room and ‘hitting the wall’ of heat. I didn’t think heat like that existed on earth!! Imagine that with your shoes? That’s just far too hot for that to happen! This was obviously a trip that your family never forgot in more ways than one and glad you can all laugh about it now 🙂
Yes, that drive across the desert is scary. Writing this piece here reminded me of that curious mixture of utter carefree abandon and fear of the unknown, as if I couldn’t had had one without the other.
I will indeed go forth and write dear Marylin, with you by my side how can I not?
I hope the next couple of weeks go well for you as you enjoy your summer (and keep cool I hope, it’s been sweltering here, hotter than Crete on some days if you can believe that!) and I look forward to catching up with you when I get back 🙂 xx
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Hi Sherri, so nice to meet and follow you. I read about you on Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog. I will follow and connect on all links. Please follow and connect back. Love the song and thank you for sharing! The pictures were lovely too. Best of luck with your book! Take care.
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Hi Janice! Thanks so much for coming over from Chris’s blog, really appreciate it and also all the follows and connections. So glad you enjoyed the post. I’ll be over to you next… great to meet you 🙂
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Sherri, I loved this because it did two things: it reminded me of those trips in my own youth and and then I also saw it through the eyes of an English girl. The dual experience was really cool. I miss those old trips. They aren’t as much fun any more–no doubt in part because I wouldn’t dare drive with beer in the car any longer hahahah. Have a wonderful time unplugged. It sounds heavenly! xo
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I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Luanne and that it gave you these two ‘viewpoints’. I remember it as being so incredibly surreal and the first time when I experienced utter carefree abandon. It wasn’t for long so perhaps that’s why this particular road trip became so defining for me. Oh weren’t they just so much fun? When I think though how different things are now, for one thing, we didn’t wear any seat belts! And definitely no beer drinking in cars today!! I honestly wonder how we survived the things we did back then, I would be horrified if my kids did the same…but then I’m sure they’ve done plenty of things that I have no clue about and that is just as well… 😉
Thanks so much Luanne, you have a good couple of weeks yourself and I look forward to catching up when I get back 🙂 xo
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Enjoy your time unplugged! I think I need to do that one of these days … semi-unplugged just doesn’t seem to work.
Funny how that song is instantly familiar to me, even though I haven’t heard it in years. There was a time in my youth when it dominated the airwaves and nothing was more important than music.
Somehow I want to take a road trip now … no destination, just the endless open road ahead of me and all my cares behind me. Until I ask myself, “Am I there yet?”
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It’s that feeling of wanting to be utterly carefree again and not having to worry about anything, driving into that distant horizon with no deadlines to keep to, no need to check the time, no worries…if only for a short while, until, as you say, we want to know if we are nearly there yet? I suppose that’s the idea of vacations, if we truly can unplug and unwind. Just not so easy these days. I’m having withdrawal just thinking about it…but I’m sure it will be beneficial. Lovely to hear from you Marlene, thank you and I really hope that you get to experience one or two of those carefree moments this summer…
Take care and I’ll see you soon 🙂
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Not to be dramatic but I miss you already! 🙂 Haha, whiny voice “Is Sherriiii baaack yeeet?”
No but seriously, have a kick ass beautiful time away and rest assured, my love, we aren’t going anywhere.
Can’t wait to catch up with you when you return, dear one!
Enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY ~
Allison xoxoxoxo
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Ahh…that’s so sweet dear Allison but I do have to admit, it’s rather nice to be missed 😉 I’ll miss you too and everyone here….I’m already having serious withdrawal just wrapping up this morning saying not goodbye but ‘au revoir’ to everyone…crazy isn’t it?
But…I do look forward very much to catching up with you when I get back, and it’s so lovely to know you’ll still be here when I do.. 😀
Thank you so much and you have a great couple of joy-filled weeks too…
See you soon…. 🙂 ❤ xo
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Have a great summer, Sherri!
A really timely memoir with the heat we have been enjoying – it’s a very special memory that many of us can identify with of being young and free and having the sultry weather on your side.
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Thanks so much Denise! I wasn’t planning on sharing this particular story until I got writing and yes, with the heat of late perhaps that was the trigger I needed and then it just seemed right. That feeling of the hot air blowing into the car through the open windows, long hair whipping across our face. Extremes in temperature certainly do make certain memories that much more evocative 🙂
Take care Denise, I do hope that your house sale/purchase continues to move forward and not too stressful and I really look forward to catching up when I get back. Enjoy your summer and see you soon 😀 ❤
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My lovely Sherri, I had tears in my eyes while reading this for no reason. I guess I could visualise you in that car, free, just enjoying your life. I’ve had moments like that and would always cherish them. My daughter and I loves the music while my hubby was slightly nodding his head to the tune. Do enjoying your time away, we’ll still be here when you get back!
Much love to you my friend! 🙂
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Bless you Seyi for sharing this, you make my heart sing…because I know that you felt the emotion of this memory with me and that means so much. It is these moments, though few and far between that we remember so powerfully isn’t it? Music plays a huge part in our lives, especially in the car, and so lovely to know that the same is for your family too, a wonderful image of you all 🙂
Thank you so much my friend, lovely to know you’ll be here when I get back, and I do hope for you a wonderful summer too…
See you soon, and much love right back to you too 🙂 ❤ xx
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If anyone deserves a little unplugged time, it’s you my friend! Have a fantastic trip! We’ll all be waiting for your return and some stunning photos. Be safe! xo
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Thank you so much my friend…wishing you and DFD a great next couple of weeks too and I look forward to catching up with you when I get back… 😀 ❤ xoxo
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Sherri what a wonderful post. I bought in Hong Kong a long black t shirt with “are we there yet” which I wore on my first long haul flight to the UK. It didn’t make it come any quicker. Loved the memoir exerpt. It that is from your book you have already got me in. Will miss you whilst you are gone but everyone needs to have a break, so don’t give a thought to us just enjoy your holiday in the sun. I hope the cold turkey is only the kind you eat. The song has just finished (big tick for bringing back memories) so take care. Love and cheers Irene ❤ 😎
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Oh I love that Irene, what a brilliant t shirt, I would love one of those!! I adore your sense of humour my friend…
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback on this little excerpt (which I didn’t plan on writing for this post but it just sort of felt right do so with the way it was going and the writing voice that was shouting the loudest, which you taught me to listen to!). It is from my book Irene, yes, so I’m thrilled to know it ‘got you’. Woo hoo, that really does give me a huge boost to keep on keeping on… 🙂
It does seems so strange to be signing off here after catching up this morning before I get on with the myriad of other tasks yet to be completed (so I had better get a move on !!) and I will miss you too! Glad you enjoyed the song and it brought back some good memories for you….it’s one of my all-time favourites, just love it…
I hope the next couple of weeks are good ones for you and I’ll catch up with you as soon as I get back…and I’ll be sure to be careful to keep to the cold turkey… 😉
Love and cheers right back to you and see you soon 😀 😎 ❤
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Happy holidays Sherri 🙂
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Thanks Irene 😀
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Have a lovely and refreshing break and may you capture even a little bit of that being free feeling you had at 19! ❤ xoxo
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Thank you so much dear friend…and wouldn’t that be just wonderful 🙂 Much love and hugs… 🙂 ❤ xoxoxoxo ❤
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I admire you for unplugging. It will refresh you, I am sure of it. Have a wonderful time!!!!! When my mom died at Christmas last year, I had to take a break. I did not have a tremendous amount of followers, but I just left them. I didn’t say anything about leaving. I just couldn’t blog. Amazingly, they emailed me, each one of them. And they are all still with me today. Have a wonderful time! And, as Jenny Pellet would say, all of us will be here when you come back!
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Oh Hollis, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom last Christmas, how terribly difficult that must have been for you. I know that when things are difficult here I find it so hard to blog when my heart is heavy, so much more when you were experiencing such a heavy grief as that…but what a beautiful testimony you share here of the love, care and genuine support from the blogging community and all your followers, who, as you say, are still with you today. I am honoured and so touched that you would share this incredibly moving story with me, thank you so much. I know we have only just met recently, but I’m so grateful that you took the time to visit me here at my summerhouse and to leave your lovely messages. I wish I could leap out of the blogosphere right now and give you a great big hug!
It really means a lot knowing you will still all be here and you are so right about our mutual and dear friend Jenny…that is just what she would say, in fact I can here here saying it right now… Thanks Jenny 🙂
I hope you have a great couple of weeks ahead and I’ll catch up with you as soon as I get back…take care and see you soon my lovely new blogging friend 🙂
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I certainly remember asking my parents this question during especially long road trips! I hope you enjoy your travels and time unplugged Sherri 🙂
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A rite of passage I think for us all! My kids got their own back on me that’s for sure 🙂 Thanks so much Heather, and I hope you are having a super summer too. Look forward to catching up when I get back, see you soon 🙂
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Enjoy the break, Sherri. I don’t think I could unplug for a week although I probably should. Regarding long car trips, my father always said, “Just around the next corner”, which annoyed us immensely since it never was around the next corner.
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I’m already having withdrawal Rachel, it feels really weird wrapping up this morning knowing I won’t be here for so long…must be an addiction! Yes, my parents used to say that too and I was every bit as annoyed when corner after corner appeared and we still weren’t there! Thanks very much Rachel, enjoy your summer and see you soon 😀
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Have a good break, Sherri… see you upon your return!
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Thanks so much Tom! Look forward to catching up when I’m back and I hope you have a great couple of weeks ahead…see you soon 😀
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Enjoy the break, Sherri, you need it. Great post and photo, as always. See you in a week.
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Ahh…I admit, I do Evelyne… Thanks so much, very happy that you enjoyed the post and also for your lovely wishes. I hope you are having a great summer my friend and I look forward to catching up when I return. See you soon 😀
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Have a lovely vacation, Sherri. It will be like a blur, especially when you are having a lot of fun. I enjoyed reading your brief memoir. 🙂
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So glad you enjoyed this read Imelda, makes me very happy that! Thanks so much for your kind wishes, I’m feeling withdrawal wrapping up here this morning but I know that I’ll benefit from the break and some down time. I hope you are having a great summer and I’ll catch up with you when I return. See you soon my friend 🙂
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Have great break Sherri and a lot of fun – see you in a few weeks when we’ll both be revved up and ready to go again 😀
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Thanks Lisa…it’ll be great to get going again! You have lots of fun too and see you soon 😀 xx
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Only a week! It’ll be gone before you know it, Sherri 😦 I think you’re heading to France, if I remember rightly. Hope the weather is blissful. I was watching the freak weather on the TV news this evening with my fingers very tightly crossed for you. Have fun 🙂
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Only a week Jo, but I’ve been away from blogging from two!! Seems a lifetime ago…but thanks, we did have a lovely time 🙂 The weather was quite hot (30C a couple of days) but we did have some thunder and rain on and off. Still, we had plenty of lovely walks and yes, even bike rides, in the warm evenings so it was a lovely time of rest and relaxation. Not to mention all those lovely, long lazy lunches…
I’ll be over to your pad as soon as I can and hope all is well 🙂
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Enjoy your break, Sherri!
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Thanks so much BT, we did have a lovely break, but it’s good to be back…catch up with you soon 🙂
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Ahh, be free again, my friend, and let the wind blow in your hair. Here’s hoping you have a beautiful break breathing in the fresh air and letting life go, Sherri. We’ll be here when you get back waiting to hear all about it. Take care — be safe. 🙂
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Ahh Pat, wouldn’t that be lovely? I did indeed feel that wind blowing in my hair but not from sitting in the back of a muscle car but from riding a bike through the French countryside which was great fun (considering I haven’t ridden a bike as an adult much at all)!!! Thanks so much my friend for your lovely message left here and on FB and I’ll be over to you as soon as I can to catch up and hoping all is well with you… 🙂 ❤
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Good to see you back, Sherri. I hope you had a good break and did some more of these fun things. Ahh, the French countryside — I can only dream how much fun that was. So happy for you.
I’m like you on riding a bike — haven’t done much of it as an adult. Last time I tried it up here in the mountains, I fell off. Guess a ten-speed doesn’t work too good on bumpy, dirt roads. Me neither. LOL. Talk with you again soon. Happy Sunday. 🙂
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Thanks so much Pat! Good to be back and lovely to see your beautiful smiling face once more! I do love to read your comments here and on FB, means so much…always makes my day you know that I hope 😀 Looking forward to catching up with you soon mon amie 🙂 ❤
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Ditto to all that, my friend. Will catch up with you soon. 🙂
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😀
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I’m beginning to see what you mean about memories, once you start they just keep coming. Have a lovely break 🙂
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It’s so true Marie, they really do! Thank you very much, we did have a lovely break and I’ll catch up with you soon 🙂
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You may not get this until after you return, but I hope you’re having a great vacation, Sherri!:)
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Hi Mike, and thanks so much for leaving your lovely message here! We had a super time thanks but good to be back and I look forward to catching up with as soon as I can, and hope you are having a great summer too 🙂
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Hope you’re having a blast Sherri! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures when you return. 🙂
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Hi Theresa! Thanks so much for leaving your lovely message my friend and yes, we did have a great time just chilling and relaxing. Good to be back though and I’ll be over to your pad as soon as I can. Hope you are having a fantastic summer and that all is well with you…see you soon 🙂
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I hope you are having a great time and thanks so much for sharing the memories. It’s been ages since I’ve listened to that song. Brings back memories of my own. Take care
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Hi TB! Ahh…so glad to bring back some of those memories for you too…great song isn’t it? We had a great time thanks but good to be back and now I just need to get back into the swing of blogging and writing again. Feel like I’ve been gone for a lifetime!! I didn’t do a thing while away but think I needed to do that. Hope you are having a good summer and all is well…enjoying your new home I’m sure!!! I’ll be over to you as soon as I can… 🙂
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
I have some memorable car journeys in my time – last summer 2000 kilometers through Spain, France and the UK with my sister and her dog – apart from the changing scenery it is also those who are with you on that journey that stay in our minds… great piece from Sherri
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Hi Sally! Wow, what a journey that was for you both and your sister’s dog too, fantastic!! I love road trips and would love to do more. Now we’re back from our time away in France, I’ve just written about getting lost in France a couple of years ago – not quite the road trip we planned but it was certainly an amazing experience! You are so right about who you are with being just as important as the sights…
Thanks so much for the reblog, really appreciate it! I’m back now and catching up but feel I’ve been away for a lifetime… 🙂
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Road trips with dogs and children are especially eventful – we used to travel between Madrid and the South a lot and our dog had favourite stopping places – usually busy restaurant areas – about 1kilometre out he would sit up and start an insistent buzzing sound and woe betide us if we drove past! I have always wanted to have a really big motor home and travel around Europe but the older you get the more you get used to home comforts! Good to chat. Keep in touch.
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Sally, having a motor home and doing a road trip around Europe (and America!) is my dream! I’ve never been to mainland Spain for some strange reason and that trip from Madrid sounds fantastic. Definitely on the ‘to do’ list! So cute about your dog…they certainly do know their routines! Yes, it is great chatting and will most definitely keep in touch! Enjoy your Sunday 🙂
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I see that guy’s black hair blowing in the wind. You are so amazingly able to bring things alive with your words Sherri. Now I’m remembering those wild child days too. I hope you’re having a ball this week, and not angsting over all your waiting emails. 😀 LOVE and HUGS ❤ XXXXXXX
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Dear Jo, you can’t know just how much you encourage me with what you write here, I’m really, really thrilled, thank you so, so much! Wow, I so much want to be able to bring this story back to life (this is a tiny excerpt from my book as the story takes place between 1978 – 1981) and in writing it I’m reminded of times such as these so I thought I would share just a tiny memory and so glad I did. I’m also truly amazed that you picked up on ‘that guy’s black hair blowing in the wind’… and you will see why later on 😉
We had a great time, thank you dear friend, but it’s good to be back and now I just have to get back to blogging and writing and let those words flow once more…hope I still can, LOL 😉 Hope you are having a super summer and that all is well with you, I’ll be over to you to catch up as soon as I can… but meanwhile, tons of love and hugs to you, and so lovely to read your message upon my return… 😀 ❤ 🙂 ❤ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PS I did think about my emails once or twice…but then I did forget all about them… 😛
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