This is the thirteenth in a series of posts sharing photos from a 21-day road trip I did with my older brother in June. It will also be the last entry.
I’ve shared with you the places we went, the things we saw and did, and the fun times we had. But I haven’t addressed the question, what did I learn on this trip? That’s going to be the focus of this final post.
I have to admit to being more than a little intimidated by this trip. Steve and I talk regularly on the phone but we hadn’t seen each other since our mother’s funeral ten years ago. We hadn’t spent more than a few hours together over the course of a few days in something like…40 years. What if we drove each other up the wall? We were pot-committed for 21 days. A three-week running feud would’ve been unbearable.
Then, there were the logistics of the trip. I’d planned week-long family vacations and backpacking adventures. But I’d never planned a three-week road trip. I’d never traveled by RV. When I got the call from the campervan owner telling me the vehicle I’d reserved had been in an accident and wouldn’t be repaired in time for the trip, I almost had a panic attack. It was two days before my flight to Chicago and I had no transportation for the trip.
So yeah, in that moment, I was terrified. That’s when I told myself, “Work the problem and take it one step at a time.” Over the six-hours it took to rebuild the RV adventure as a rental car road trip, I learned that I was 100% committed to making this trip happen. I wanted this. It was important to me, enough so that canceling wasn’t an acceptable option under any circumstances.
This realization gave me confidence that, whatever personal differences might emerge, Steve and I would work through them. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been as worried about our travel chemistry as I had been. We got along great. We’re brothers. We’re blood. We’re there for each other. It was a great 21 days and, however much time may pass before we see each other next, I know in my heart that we’ll pick up right where we left off.
That’s what I learned on this trip.
OK, there was one thing that took some getting used to. My big brother is a country music fan. I did not know this about him. I never would have guessed this about him. Since I was doing the driving, Steve was responsible for in-car entertainment. Basically, that meant finding a radio station with good music. I assumed he’d dial-in some NPR station…news talk or classical. Nope.
Steve is locked in on country. That’s what we listened to pretty much every day. I’m not a country music fan. I don’t dislike country but it’s never been my first choice. But for 21 days, I became a country music fan. It was that or claw my eyes out, and I like having the gift of sight. Rest assured, I survived. No damage was done. Country is still not my first choice…but dang that “Heart Like a Truck” song 😊
Thanks for following along on the adventure. I hope your summer vacation was as special and memorable as this one was for me. Here’s one last look at a selection of my favorite photos from the trip.
