Monday, January 13, 2014

Randy McNally



“… Chatting with my Trucker Girls on Facebook tonight, reminded me of a trip I took some 20+ years ago… My mother had just passed and my brother and I decided to bring some of her stuff home. She lived in Marathon Florida Keys and I live near Portland Oregon! We proceeded to rent a 12’ U-Haul and filled it to the brim. My brother had to be home to go back to work. One of my friends offered to fly down and drive back with me. … But NO! …  Being the independent thinker that I am, I decided to drive ‘cross country’ by myself.  I had purchased a Rand McNally map book and a cassette tape deck with some music (before CD’s).
Off I went.”

“…Stopping in Southern Georgia at a little ‘greasy spoon’ for refreshment, I enjoyed some Sweet Tea.  Listening to folks at the counter visiting, I was amazed!  Not used to their exquisite southern accents, I couldn’t understand a thing they were saying! I imagined myself in a foreign country! My waitress and I had some fun trying to interact. I did have a great meal there. Onward - North and West the Rand McNally took me on my way.” 

“…Going through the mid-west I ran into weather. Being a true Oregonian I was used to rain buckets, cats and dogs and the like. I was totally unprepared for lightning, wind and frozen golf balls. Not sure weather to stop or keep driving I turned up the cassette, singing louder, and continued on. Thank goodness there was no damage to glass, although, I do believe, there were some dents in the metal!  Onward Mr. McNally…”

“… Montana early one morning, I followed a Moose down the freeway for a mile or more. (Yes, a Moose on the freeway!) They are HUGE – bigger than an elk, my Oregonian friends!  Finally he decided to jump the barrier and wander on his way. My first, and so far last, moose sighting! By then I was familiar enough to address my map by ‘Randy’, and we continued on together….”

“All in all the trip took about 8 days. As I traveled I was amazed by all I saw across our great continent. I arrived in Oregon invigorated and yet exhausted by my adventure.  I do believe however, that my co-pilot, Mr. Randy McNally, was worse for wear!”

“ I now ponder how long it will take my New ‘Randy’ to get broken in on our impending odysseys…

Thank you pinterest for the map!    
To purchase the map shown contact etsy artist

2 comments:

Meadowlake Studios said...

Good post. Try a road picture or something to illustrate one of the scenes. A southern diner, a hail storm, or just a long lonely road. Fantastic job.

Unknown said...

Thankx for the idea Mike!