10:43 a.m. - July 11, 2004
Nostalgia
It's been a while since I wrote, but I had several things running through my mind...yesterday, B. and I went on a mini, unintentional road trip--he was trying to go to a park near Willoughby, and missed the exit and ended up much father east. We just drove around, and drove along the coast of the lake, where there were many little towns with either booming downtowns of strip-malls with chain stores, or small, once vibrant downtowns.

The latter, of course, was filled with beautiful old storefronts that have been empty for years, I would suppose. And you can tell that these were once cities where families would flock for summer vacations or weekend trips, families and couples would come here, stay for the weekend, perhaps go to the diner, and then sunburn on the shores of the lake.

This used to be a special treat back then, when airplanes were a luxury, and parents would pile their children into the station wagon, close their homes for the weekend and drive an hour or so to get to the lake.

Now, airplane tickets are cheap and one can buy them for less than fifty dollars if there's a special, and people would now flock to places like Bermuda--just a few hours on an airplane, spend time on a beach by salt water--less time in the car. Perhaps that's not always a good thing.

Of course, my memories of car trips are those of monotony and being anxious, feeling like, "are we there yet?", fighting for an inch of space in the backseat with my brother ("He's touching me! Leave me alone!"), Mom and dad arguing about where we are, and Mom yelling at dad for the way he drives down a highway without caution...This is road tripping with the family. I think many people have forgotten this.

This is how people really get to spend time with each other. In a space that is confined, getting on each others' nerves, but this is how you remember those trips. Like, remember when we went to that pizza place, and jon threw up? Or maybe, we went to a national park and got locked out of our car, so we had to call the Park Ranger, who then used a wire to unlock the door, and our right passenger door never opened from the inside, till we got it repaired months later?

And over the years, as more and more people flock to sunny resorts and Disney World, fewer people head to stay by the lake. It's not as exotic as it once used to be, and that is very apparent. Soon, the diners and shops closed, and there was no longer anything to draw the families back to the lake--a trip to the lake now consists of a drive there, and then driving back home the same day. This is how I imagine it.

And along this same line of thought--I still remember, as a kid, when it was a luxury to have mangoes or pineapples. They came during the seasons, so they were rarities to be savored at those times of the year...Now, you can get a mango or pineapple any time. They've just been a part of our daily lives now.

I'm not sure why, but this makes me sort of sad. I think we've lost that appreciation for those special events or treats; it sort of goes with the "me-society", I think, when we get what we want when we demand it. And so time and change marches on, as I can see by the storefronts being replaced by Applebee's and Targets.

It's always nice to see places that exist in areas, places that add their own unique flavor to the area by providing something that isn't so homogenized--like restaurants owned by people who've come to this country recently and share their countrie's food with us. These are the hidden gems, and I encourage you to find them--a little bit of culture in your own neighborhood. I challenge you to look for local rarities that hearken back to days when things were not so homogenized; when McDonald's was just begun, and wal-mart didn't exist. Go to the local drive-in, sit in the car with a burger that threatens your upholsery. Drive to an ethnic part of a city, where you may be the only english-speaking person, and buy something you have a vague understanding or knowledge of, whether it's a piece of bread or some crispy noodles. Go somewhere you've never been, even if it's full of Wal-marts, and just drive around. Go off the main road, go hiking. Drive in old neighborhoods. Check out the farmer's market and buy whatever is in season. Visit a local winery. Drive up and down a lakeshore, and visit whatever harbors or museums there may be. Be a tourist in your own city or area. Pick up a travel guide for your own region, and check out something you've never seen before, whether it's the hearing aid museum or giant ears of corn, or the peanut that looks like Jimmy Carter.

I think this is what summer used to be--exploring places you never knew existed (this isn't to say that people didn't go to exotic places, like Las Vegas or Memphis), but find something new, and renew your awe in your city or area. There's places to discover (oh, and I sound like a commercial, don't I?)

Or even if you travel to some far off place, go somewhere that challenges your safety zone (but don't get yourself in danger). I am saying, if you're in Munich or something, just wander off the beaten path, eat somewhere that's obviously full of locals. Try something that's not in the guidebook (and I don't mean American chain restaurants--or even if you do, just experience how different it tastes from real American food).

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