Every Mile a Memory.

I recently returned from a trip to San Diego. One of the first things people said upon my move to Phoenix was: "Oh, you're so close to San Diego--you can drive there!" I immediately added it to my "to-do" list and began planning. When I mapped the trip, I discovered that San Diego is in fact somewhere between 5 and 6 hours from Phoenix depending on your driving style and the road conditions. It really isn't what I would classify as "so close." More like..."kind of close" or..."not as far as driving to the Atlantic Ocean."

Now I admit, being from the East Coast, I was centrally located and used to being relatively close to everything. Even if you're traveling a good distance, there are towns and stops along the way. It's really only scary in the Appalachians. Meanwhile, the drive from Phoenix to San Diego is a bit more like this:

If I got a flat tire, chances were pretty good I'd be:
a) attacked by a scorpion

b) murdered by a hitchhiking serial killer

c) drink both litres of water I packed for the trip in the first 5 minutes of being stranded

However, being an optimist, I planned for success and decided to go vintage on the road trip mixes. I started with Les Mis from Phoenix to Yuma. The best part about road tripping alone is being able to sing all the parts. I was every character in the musical and I'm pretty sure I'd win a Tony if there was a "one-woman-show" category. After a stop at the only Starbucks I saw on the route, I rotated the music to country mixes. Each mix was dated and it was amusing to listen to the progression--I could tell when I gave up on love ("Kerosene", Miranda Lambert). The first CD was fun and carefree--obviously my sophomore year of college. I am proud to say I still remember every word to "What Was I Thinkin'?" by Dierks Bentley. It seemed appropriate to be jamming to country as I crossed through a pitch black Imperial Valley. Tractors were out, their lights bright and strange in the night as they tended the fields. 

Then Jo Dee Messina and "Heads Carolina, Tails California" came on. It made me think of my sophomore crush. He was country, so of course he liked country music. Naturally, I had to find common ground so I started to listen to country music. He ended up getting a little full of himself, which was a total turnoff. But happy to say the country music stuck. My 19-year-0ld self never would have guessed she'd be driving through California listening to that song. And it made me miss Carolina--but then Buddy Jewell came on with "Sweet Southern Comfort" and I got teary and sentimental. Which isn't necessarily a good thing driving on a dark unfamiliar road. "What Was I Thinkin?" was on another mix--apparently, I liked Dierks Bentley. And then there was the baseball country mix the trainer had put together for me during our time working with the college baseball team. So all of those songs remind me of that season.

Each song had its own memory. Music is funny like that. Growing up in central PA, it was a 5 hour drive over back roads to visit family in Pittsburgh. Radio stations were hit and miss, so we listened to music. It started with "Hide 'Em In Your Heart"--and then there was "Hide 'Em In Your Heart II." It's how we memorized our Bible verses. As we grew out of "Hide 'Em In Your Heart" we graduated to contemporary Christian hits. Any time road trip sing-a-longs come up in our family, we all remember my brother's amazing spot-on falsetto to Charlie Peacock's lady backup singers. At least I think it was Charlie Peacock. Our favorite was, of course, DC Talk. Nu Thang, anyone? A few years later, we got some James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Motown thrown into the mix, slowly easing us into secular music. Of course it was my parents' music. It's probably why I'm so out of touch. (Have you guys heard of that Michael Bublé dude...?)   

Do yourself a favor--next road trip, make a mix and make some memories.