The Female of the Species...

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on any kind of trip with my sisters and mother. I think maybe since elementary school, in fact. It may have involved back to school clothing shopping. Actually, all of our family trips were pretty much us girls but my dad was always there, our chauffeur to the outlet stores, our navigator and alas, the main controller of the radio (thus, an endless stream of country music featuring the Judds, Kenny Rogers and Johnny Cash. And Alabama.)

You may think: Your poor dad. Three girls and the wife. But really, it wasn't that bad for him. He was kept amused by pennysaver weekly papers and real estate trades. And of course, the occassional trip for atomic fireballs. (One thing about traveling with my dad: he NEVER stops for normal meals. He thinks breakfast at 5a.m. can sustain you for 12 hours.)

So this weekend I traveled five hours north – practically to Canada – to attend the Relay for Life at SUNY Plattsburgh. It was for my cousin, whose mom (my aunt) died from cancer two years ago in April. She’s on the rugby team, turning 21 next weekend, and put together a team to raise money and walk for the 12-hour event.

It was an interesting trip to put it mildly. Just so you understand, you really cannot get three more different people than me and my two sisters, and then throw my mom in there and it’s just a free for all.

and I’m really, really sorry anonymous for abandoning you with mom on the trip home.

Highlights:
1) Being mistaken for a 19 year old college student
2) Fun with walkie-talkies on the way home (seriously – walkie-talkies are not just for 10 year old boys)
3) Checking out the cute frat boys with my sister (this is something complete new to me – I didn’t do this when I was in college).
4) Car dancing at the boat launch on Isle la Motte at 7:45 a.m. to Alanis and Christina.
5) Trying to learn French courtesy the Montreal radio stations
6) Learning that my mother can sleep through anything. Including 300 college students in a field house and a reggae cover band.

Quotes:
1) “Bon Jour! Como tally view? I’m at sortie 35.”
2) “Oh, look. Those baby cows have their own little tents….”
3) “Good lord! So many dead bunnies! It’s like Watership Down up here!”
4) “No wonder I’ve been smelling French fries for the past 20 miles. A biodiesel VW bus!”
5) “Have all of the VT state troopers emigrated to NY?” on mile 120 with no troopers in sight.
6) “I’m passing the town of….Ghent? Hudson? No wait… It begins with an A. No wait – new town. …. No I’m not speeding…”
7) Mom’s car: “Does anyone want to stop at the Christmas Tree Shops on the way home?” My car: “Negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full.”

There were so many more... but these were those that stuck out the most. It was enough to make me almost miss family vacations.

Almost.