The Trip of a Lifetime

I was five the year my grandfather died. I understood the reason for death, but not the consequences of how it affects others. My grandmother almost grieved herself to death and I think my mother was frightened and shocked when she realized a person can actually do that. She would have done anything, promised anything, I believe, to stop that from happening. In fact she did and that led to the trip of a lifetime for me.

Pa Pa had been gone seven years when Nanny told my parents she wanted to go to the Baseball Hall of Fame before she died. My Aunt Mary, Nanny's twin sister had long since come to live with Nanny who was still in the throws of grief.. Momma and Daddy agreed immediately and began to plan a trip to Cooperstown the next summer. Momma decided they would fulfill several of Nanny's dreams in one fell swoop so she got tickets to see the Cincinnati Reds play since Nanny was an avid fan of the Big Red Machine. She had a special affinity for Pete Rose who was both playing and managing at the time. Momma's next plan included tickets to the Grand Ole Opry and the Football Hall of Fame was thrown in as a bonus. A few weeks before the trip Daddy bought a new Suburban and a pop up camper. I don't recall all the preparation, but I remember the air of excitement that permeated all of us.

The morning we left Cleveland, Texas we were quite a little troop. There was Daddy, Momma, Nanny, Aunt Mary, my brother Larry, my cousin Glenn, and me. Larry made himself a comfortable bed in the very back of the Suburban, and the rest of us paired up two per seat.

The first stop on our journey was Nashville, Tennessee. Nanny had never been out of Texas and every mile gave her a new wonder to file away in her memory bank. Amid the excitement everyone missed the omen that this might be a less than perfect vacation. Momma had had banding surgery for weight loss a few weeks before and was having a few complications. Only a couple of hours into the trip Daddy had to get her a large cup, because she vomited almost constantly. Oh, not loudly, but like a baby with a chronic case of spitting up. Perhaps if she had been loud we wouldn't have missed the signs.

The budget for the trip included our stays in K.O.A. Campgrounds. My folks thought of everything except the possibility that the new camper was a lemon. We made that discovery at our first stop when it wouldn't crank up. Daddy found a dealership while the rest of us lazed around or explored the campground. When he came back he told us the news that there was a factory defect in the camper and it would take forty hours to repair it. Now most people would have been daunted by such catastrophic news, but not my Momma. She merely changed gears and made the decision we would continue on our trip. She had planned this thing for a year and "By Jobe we weren't going to miss it even if it hair-lipped Texas!!!" At least I think that's how she put it. The budget just had to be revamped a little and we would stay in motels the remainder of the trip. Of course there was only enough money for one room most nights. Well, you do the math! All I will say is that at twelve I learned the full meaning of close quarters!

The Wax Museum was a huge disappointment to me, but my brother thought it grand. Momma said all the figures looked dead which I've never understood. They were made of wax for heaven's sake! Daddy and Glenn, however, spent a lot of time admiring Dolly Parton, and I don't think they were disappointed at all. Opry Land was new and only had a few rides, but it was pretty. The Grand Ole Opry was amazing. The tickets, Momma bought a year in advance put us on the fourth row from the stage. We were close enough even Nanny and Aunt Mary could read Porter Wagoner's jacket when he opened it to reveal the words "Hello" and "Goodbye" in sequins. They got a real kick out of that. Our next stop was the Lost Sea Caves. It's really deep and the bottom is an underground body of water. There were glass bottomed boats that allowed us to see these huge trouts that were totally white because they never got any sun. I don't know if that was truly exciting, but Nanny never learned to swim and was terrified of being in a boat. She hung on for dear life and threatened our pilot with death every time a ripple swayed the craft. She was so relieved to return to dry ground, but not as much as he was, I'd wager.

After Tennessee we went to Georgia. I wanted to see where Gone With The Wind had been filmed but had to settle for a toy museum. All I can say about that is they had some boring toys back in the day! We spent the night in Wilmington, North Carolina, or was it South Carolina? I always get those mixed up. Either way, it was our first look at white beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed in a condo where Nanny and Aunt Mary refused to walk out to the beach. Nanny said she "had seen more than enough water, thank you very much!" There was a sand sculpture contest going on and I vividly remember it. The beaches in Texas can't even be compared to that one nor can brown water hold a candle to blue. It was probably the highlight of the trip for me.

I don't recall every place we stopped, but one night I recall in particular. We were passing through Pennsylvania and Daddy was tired so we began looking for lodging. We finally stopped at a McDonald's around 1:00 in the morning and Momma asked the girl in the drive thru about a motel. She told us of a place about twelve miles up the road. She called it "a quite nice inn." Tired, we drove straight there, but we were a bit concerned as Daddy went inside the rather dubious looking office to inquire about a room. The price was good, which should have set off sky rockets in our minds, but I suppose we were too tuckered out. Daddy got us two rooms and when we walked through the doors I just knew that if grief didn't kill Nanny this would! The beds were lumpy or sagging, depending on the angle we viewed from. The chairs were tattered and well worn. The sheets weren't clean and the bathroom reeked from the smell of truckers with really poor aim. Normal travelers would have demanded their money back and moved on, but not us! Instead, we spent the remainder of the night with our heads hanging off the sides for fear of becoming bug infested....like the little devils don't jump! We were up and gone by seven, more tired than when we stopped. Five miles up the road we passed a Best Western and it was the first and only time I have ever seen Daddy have a seizure while at the wheel! From then on we gave all the "quite, nice inns" a broad path but it did give us some good laughs when we began to get bored.

If I live to be a thousand I will never forget the look on Nanny's face when she entered the Baseball Hall of Fame. Standing before the jersey's and gear of Mantel and Bench she and Momma actually cried. I have never seen them speechless except for that one moment so it's no surprise really. I'll always remember it, just as I will the awe I felt upon placing my hand within Lou Gehrig's glove. Glenn got all teary eyed as he sat in Hank Aaron's locker. That place has power, I will give it that! We batted a few rounds in the cages and took lots of photos with the statue of the sandlot kid. Momma was greatly impressed with Doubleday Field and gave us quite a history lesson. Cooperstown is a cool town with cobblestone streets and friendly natives. It is a beautiful gem in New York's setting and I urge everyone to go there at least once.

In Cincinnati we crossed over the walkway to enter Riverfront Stadium. We were in left field, even with our year in advance tickets, and it was our first open air pro game. We often visited the Dome to watch the Astros, but it never felt like that park. There was a row of Nuns with kids from the orphanage near us. Those ladies knew the stats of every Red player and they were far better commentators than the guys in the booth. The fans were awesome and Nanny got to see "Charlie Hustle" play in one of his last games. If she had died that night, she would have gone home satisfied and happy, I think.

We ended our trek at the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. It was interesting and the guys loved it, though I much preferred the Cooperstown experience. The boys all got authentic NFL Dallas Cowboys jackets and I suppose they still have them twenty one years later.

The trip home was quicker and crabbier. When we crossed the state line in Texas, Momma actually got out and kissed the marble monument. She still says that was the longest seventeen days of her life.

Nanny didn't grieve herself to death after all. We lost her earlier this year at the age of eighty-two. That vacation was the only one she ever took. She always said one was enough when it was the best. Personally, I think she developed a phobia of "quite, nice inns", and being enclosed in a Chevrolet Suburban with a puking woman and three arguing kids. Either way it was the trip of a lifetime!