Road Trip Part 2: Champagne and Frozen Berries

Continuing from the previous post, we are on a road trip down to Asheville, NC then to St. Pauls, NC and home again.  It was a lot of driving for a three day vacation.  But it reminded me that I love a good road trip.

My family grew up taking road trips.  We had a pop up camper that we towed everywhere.  My dad would drive through the night for our next exciting location.  It was always an honor to be the one to take the night shift with Dad.  We would be so excited to see the next new thing such as red dirt in the south, mountains rising out of the plains, cactus or tumbleweeds in the southwest.  Each turn seemed to have some grand new adventure. 



Camping with the Family on one of our many trips

 We had a full size conversion van that was perfect for trips.  The back seat folded into a bed.  There were captains chairs in the middle that turned any direction we wanted.  My mom would make sure we were well stocked with books, drinks, snacks, or songs to sing.  Us kids hung out in the back and played games, read books, and slept.  I still remember the mistake of telling my brother I wanted to learn how to play 52 card pick up.

In my college years, I did a little too much traveling.  I kept a map on my walls and traced all of the highways, interstates, and back roads I had traveled.  I could have stared at an atlas all day.  I think I could have told you how to get just about anywhere.  Maybe I should have been working on a degree to work for Google Maps.  I recently found my college road trip map and it gave me a good laugh. 



My traveling became sparse after college.  Having a full time job really cut into my traveling time.  How dare my employers expect me to work 5 days a week.  Don't they know I belong on the road.  Road trips began to feel like a stressful chore and loose the fun they once had.  The gas prices didn't help.

On this recent trip, I was happy to find some of that excitement again.  There were a few new routes that we drove and it was exciting to have that unexpected view around the bend.  Here are a few of the views from our road trip.

Cotton fields on the back roads from Charlotte to St. Paul, NC

Pilot Mountain on 52 from Winston Salem to Virginia

Walker Mountain Tunnel on 77 from Virginia to West Virginia

It was a great drive.  I only wish we had more time to stop and explore.  Hopefully Ben and I will have the time to take a longer vacation sometime soon.  Then we can do some real exploring.  I only have 3 states left:  Minnesota, Idaho, and Vermont.

Travis and Caroline

Back to the drink...While in St. Paul, Travis and Caroline shared their current drink of choice with us.  We played games and drank champagne with frozen berries.  The drink is incredibly simple, tasty, and pretty too.  Freeze berries and put them in a champagne glass and pour champagne over top.  Use a champagne that is less sweet.  If I had champagne here, I'd be pouring one now.