Road Trip Memories: The History of the Road

A few days ago, my husband and I took our children to North Carolina for the summer vacation with our family. We drove as usual. This is a one-way 12-hour trip, but we don't mind, the scenery is great-Audi, Corvette, Comeros, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche, to name a few. This holiday we can’t help but pay more attention to American classic cars that are still driving on the highway.

After a tumultuous past few years, I, for one, am happy to see the original car manufacturers are still here. General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler still showcasing great innovations and designs, even if they are evolved from their humbled beginnings.

This road trip was great, it put us smack in the middle of a group driving to some unknown car show in northern Florida. The parade of classics that passed us included a jet black ’57 Chevy Bel Air. The kids “oohhed” and “aahhed” from the back seat as it purred passed us. The sleek lines of the curvy body reflected sunlight off of every polished chrome accent. The tail fins on the back reminded us of the ocean we were leaving behind for the mountains. The silver haired man behind the wheel threw his hand up at the ogling kiddos in our car- all 4 of us.

Following behind the Bel Air was a deep purple ’69 Chevy Camaro. The stark white racing stripes flanked the sides of the small scoop on the hood, continued over the top, and then onto the deck lid where the finished at the subtle spoiler. A rolling classic driven by a happy woman; we laughed as we watched her dancing to a song we couldn’t here.

The third exhibit in this rolling museum was a ’67 Ford Mustang. I’m not a big Mustang fan, but the 67 is a fine specimen. The round headlights and the oval grill with the pony in the middle along with the accents under the door became iconic Mustang attributes.

We sat there in our HHR watching the history pass when suddenly our view was interrupted. Muscling in between us was a 2011 Dodge Challenger. The blacked out beast was a monstrous tribute to its predecessor from 70’s. The windows were also dark as the night, hiding the driver. We thought about whom it might be, my youngest said the President.

Although our minds were dominated by the reasons for the upcoming July 4th, they were soon overwhelmed by the history of Detroit, and we humbly joined the great highway. In this fourth holiday, take a moment to commemorate the soldiers who have guaranteed our freedom over the past 235 years and the great American muscles who have accompanied us all the way. Happy Fourth of July.