Okay.
Did anybody else see “Oprah” yesterday?
Because Oprah and Gayle set out on a cross country trip in a Chevrolet, and I laughed out loud and clapped my hands while I watched. I really think that Gayle and Emma Kate are somehow related, so similar are their personalities (and p.s. – Gayle sings just like my friend Tracey in that she is a bit, um, tonally, um, challenged, which tickles me to no end).
Anyway, as a result of today’s show, I’ve decided that I want to take a cross country car trip with someone next year – and I really could name fifteen people off the top of my head that I would go with IN A HEARTBEAT, with my husband being at the tippy-top of that list. But if one of the conditions of my imaginary voyage is that I can’t take a family member – well, then, my college friends go straight to the starting line-up. I can’t think of a single one who wouldn’t be an absolute blast.
And it probably won’t surprise you, what with your understanding of my OCD tendencies, to learn that I’ve been thinking about my potential cross country route. I’d love to fly to New York, rent a car, and then make my way to California, but I think I’d probably just back out of my driveway and head west. It wouldn’t be all-the-way-across-country, per se, but it would be a start. Plus, driving from here to California would take me straight through Texas, which would give me a chance to meet some of my most favorite blogging buddies.
I think it’s a pretty fun idea, don’t you?
And just out of curiosity – if you were driving cross country, who would you take with you if you couldn’t take family? And what would be the soundtrack for your trip? Or would you, like Oprah, rather ride in silence? (in case you were wondering, the thought of riding in silence doesn’t just make me twitch – it makes me KICK. Incessantly.)
Good times, noodle salad.*
Can’t wait to read your comments.
*Anybody know the movie?
*Melvin Udall in “As Good As It Gets”.
You’re going to have to sell me on the driving cross-country thing. How ’bout I fly out and just meet y’all there? :)
I DID see some of Oprah today and I rarely ever watch Oprah! The only reason I stayed with it was that I thought it was some kind of joke about Oprah and the music…I couldn’t believe that she was really serious that it bugs her to have music playing in the car.
In MY opinion, there is something VERY not right about that.
The first thing that comes on in my car is…well, actually the FIRST thing is the air but the next thing after that is the radio. And if they are talking too much on the radio then I turn on the cd player….unless it’s Rick and Bubba but other than that there’s GOT to be music!
So I think there is something really seriously wrong with riding in silence to the grocery store much less across the dadgum country.
:)
My WORD, girl!
I would MUCH rather listen to silence than the quote MUSIC unquote my teenagers listen to! Wait a few years and you’ll feel the same way. There’s a reason for the old saying “Silence is golden.” The person who wrote it had teenagers…
Hmmm, I think I’d take one of my good friends, who also happens to have been my mentor and favorite professor in college. (Although, instead of a cross-country trip, I’d really rather take an around-the-world trip with her.) And though I feel sure it would drive her bonkers, our (my) music of choice would be my pretend boyfriend, Clay Aiken. ;) A compliation of his new CD (for which there was a commercial during Oprah today!) and bootleg live concert performances.
Now, I just need to plan our route…
I saw the first few minutes of Oprah…
I would travel across country in a heart beat but with my whole family in an RV….and music of course…silence drives me nuts!
unless there is a lot lots of traffic…
My aunt & Uncle just did this route cross country from Florida, Birmingham AL, Amarillo TX, Sedona, Lake Havasu City, Las Vegas, California, Eureka, Portland, Seattle,
Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, St Louis, Atlanta and back to Florida.
It was awesome to hear of their stops on the way!
Must. Have. Music. :).
I would love to travel with my hubby and kids. Next would be my Mom and big Sistahs (I have 3)…maybe we would let my big brother come along (because he drives fast and we could get there quicker ;).
Kristi
I’m the same – college buddies top the list. Helen first, because she is my bestest friend in the entire world. Then Shelby. And if I could take Helen AND Shelby, well, we wouldn’t get anywhere. We’d all be laughing too hard for anyone to drive.
Soundtrack – Greatest Hits of the 80’s.
But I was also thinking that it would be oh so fun to you with you, Ms. Boomama. How I wish I could just sit and chat with you a while…
I always watch Oprah if I am home and I totally agree with her when she said that it should be the driver’s choice if you play your tunes or not. I prefer a little of both, being occupied with my own thoughts and then getting gigi with it is good too. :) Oprah and Gail are a riot! Pinky swear. :)
For sure, stop off in Texas and pick me up.
And the soundtrack would depend on the company. For you and me, I’m thinking totally ’80’s. Journey, Phil Collins and Sting. Yeah, baby.
Okay…I saw it. I love Oprah 90% of the time.
I did laugh alot. But really….could she not be MORE out of TOUCH with SOCIETY??? :) Come on, she’s not pumped gas in 23 years? She had to wait 20 minutes to check into the hotel? Wow.
Seriously, it would be a great show if we could make her go cross country on a $1000 or less budget like most of America would have to do. Let’s see her count pennies at Taco Bell to eat off the dollar menu, and not worry about the suite at the Wynn! :)
I will be watching though, to see how it all ends up!
I know! I was sort of surprised that she remembered how to drive. :-)
The pumping gas thing was hysterical. I loved it when Gayle told the producer, “Ms. Winfrey is losing her pleasing personality!”
I saw her standing in some sort of motel in the previews, saying, “There is no way I can sleep in this room.” Can’t wait to see what happens.
Oh my word this a post, and a subject, I just love! I watched that Oprah show. (I LOVED the part where Gail had to stay in the car to finish “her” song.) I am the road-trip Mama. My husband and I got this crazzzzy idea in the late 90s that we wanted to take our 2 boys to see ALL 50 states before they left home. So far?? 49 states, baby!!!!! We just did Alaska in June, and have saved Hawaii for next summer. It has been (*mostly) A BLAST!! (*We’ve had our Oprah-Gail moments of “issues”. Mostly of the sibling kind; you know, “He’s touching my side. He’s breathing my air!” But by and large, I can truthfully say, it really has been GOOD!!!)
We have done many a driving trip to get it all in. We have logged more miles than I could count. In addition to every “required” tourist thing (Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore, Alcatraz) we have been to Graceland, seen the Corn Palace, gone dog sledding. We have lifetime of memories (and lots of laughs. You can’t keep a straight face when the little Class 1 rafting trip you signed your precious family up for, to leisurely cruise down a quiet New Mexico river, turns into, thanks to a thunderstorm, a Class 3 fright-fest. Yeah, we laughed about that….AFTER the fact.)
Anyway, now that I’ve been with the fam, I would LOVE to do some road trips with my best girlfriends!! The first eleventy-hundred hours we would have to–HAVE to–gab. Then, we would have to have some tunes. Anything Motown would be a must. And LOTS of delicious cheezy/chocolatey snacks would also be required. Little Miss Debbie, and her boxes of gooey goodness, would definitely be along for the ride.
IF you do take your road trip, think about this: if you blogged your itinerary (and you know YOU would), we could follow your exploits. And what with all the cyber-sistahs you now have, you and your road-trip pals could be fed/lodged across the entire country!!! You know, the BooMama Tour of Friends!! If you come to Texas, swing by Austin, and I’ll take y’all to my all-time favorite road stop: The Cracker Barrel!!
: ) Phyllis R.
didn’t lisa whelchel do this with her family.
I’d have to make my cross-country trip with my friend Jade – never a dull moment with her around! Never!
Our musical choice for the trip?!?!
ELVIS!
It’s officially not a road trip with us unless The King is along for the ride! :)
Oh! My! Gosh! My girlfriend and I say that line from “As Good As It Gets” all the time! I didn’t know anyone else did that! Too funny.
And speaking of, that’s the very girlfriend I would go on a roadtrip with. My good friend Clarisa.
My soundtrack… Tons of 80s one-hit wonders, U2, Tom Petty, Coldplay, Dido, Sarah McLaughlin, the Mission soundtrack, Phil Collins, Elton John, Arcade Fire, Moby… And I’m sure more I can’t think of.
We’d fly to L.A. and drive up to Vancouver, B.C. – possibly the most goreous route EVAH.
BooMama – love the post and love the blog! I actually just returned from a road trip (5,876 miles) and was so excited to share my adventures that I started a blog last week! (I’d been snooping around this blog circle for about a month and figured it was time to join in the fun). Rather than leaving you the longest comment in blogland history, I just published my third post (yay!) on road trip entertainment in response to your question. My roommate and I are road trip planning freaks, and we put tons of time into our music selection, so feel free to check out the post for ideas. Enjoy!
Well, in my fantasy of driving cross-country or traveling through Europe, I am ten years younger and single. For one thing, I was in much better shape and a lot less tired and lethargic plus I don’t think I’d have the heart to take that long away from my husband so it’d have to have been during a time when I was single. I’d take Rachel, but she was just getting married and pregnant then so that probably wouldn’t have worked out so well and my friend Chrissy was only fifteen so I probably would have been in big trouble with her mama for taking her…
Oh who am I kidding…I’d hop in the car RIGHT now with a folder full of compilation CDs and drive ‘cross country all by my lonesome if I could get away with it!
Well you know I’d have Gulley with me and it wouldn’t really matter where we headed because hilarity would ensue and the music would be blaring.
Does it have to be just one friend? That alone would be a HUGE problem for me. I need at least 4 people for my posse.
Hmm, thinking hard. Bridget, of course, and then Erin and Carrie from college, and I’d need Robin, of course, and Brittani, and I’d suck you into tagging along, and . . .
So maybe I’d need an RV?
And music, definitely.
(And can I just say that while Oprah’s not my favorite, I’m TOTALLY going to have to TiVo this tomorrow, to know what you’re talking about??)
Okay thewoodlog is set up, but no entries yet. I am going to start tomorrow!!! I am not computer savvy like some people and need a little extra help!
I’d have to head west and take my husband and kids to see the Painted Desert and the Grand Canyon. We’ve actually been discussing this trip with the ex-wife-in-law and her husband. She would bring Porter Waggoner and ABBA, and the kids would most likely have headphones. I’d make hubby bring his guitar because I LOVE to hear him play. The man’s got talent. He’s also got a thing for Little Debbie, so we’d have to bring her along. We’re thinking of doing the trip in an RV.
p.s. “As Good As It Gets” is one of my favorite movies. :-)
Traci – Let’s go to supper at Panera tomorrow night b/c they have wifi and I’ll bring the laptop and we’ll work on your blog!
And then K and D can make fun of us.
But still. It’ll be fun!
You crack me up!! I love reading about all of these memories and I am always nodding my head in agreement with you, just as you bring up yet another long-ago-memory.
I’ve also realized something rather alarming: I must, in fact, be coming down with early Alzheimer’s because I do not remember any of this on my own, until prompted by you! HOW do you remember even the tiniest (and hilarious) details??? I am truly in awe! At any rate, I’m so glad you do remember! For the sake of my funny bone!
SHOOT – so sad that I missed that show! I would LOVE to do a road trip – are you including kids? In that case, I’d have to re-consider! No, I could do a road trip with Lauren 110 %!!! I could easily do one with you or “sister”…have to have LOTS of tunes while cruising across country!! Lots and Lots of music!
I don’t think I’ll ‘really’ be doing one until the boys get older! :-) I’d miss them terribly!