Driving Cross Country (Passport to Art altered book)
Here's my most recent spread for the altered book I'm making in the Passport to Art altered book class sponsored by Bernice Hopper. This page is in response to the Day 17 Prompt which talks about striking out on new paths. It documents the cross-country car trip that Paul and I took in 1982. We drove a 1963 Volkswagen bug from Los Angeles to Ithaca, New York (and then I went on to Cambridge, Massachusetts). It was a wildly unreliable car, and it stranded us in a ghost town in the southwest (which looks like the the one in the picture) and on the Chicago expressway on a Friday afternoon at 5:00 p.m.! The map at the top of the layout shows the route we took. The journaling along the bottom relates a couple of interesting facts about our trip: we traveled with bikes on the back which we rode to a hotel in Chicago when we broke down; we camped in the southwest until we got tired of the red rock; in Iowa, a mechanic named Fuzzy was unable to fix the VW - in fact he didn't even know where the engine was; we got stopped for speeding in Colorado; and we stayed with Paul's uncle on his farm in Omaha, Nebraska. You can click on the photo to see the layout in more detail.
I really like how this altered book project is making me recall all kinds of trips and travel that I have done in my life. I'm glad that I drove across county - ONCE. I don't feel the need to ever do it again, but it is an experience that I am glad I didn't miss out on. We traveled approximately 3,000 miles on our trip! What about you? What's the longest driving trip you've ever taken?
That sounds like such a great trip ... nothing like a bit of adventure! We went on a trip around Australia before we were married - we took 18 months off work and travelled at our own pace, it certainly provides us with many interesting topics to discuss - even now!
ReplyDeletewow some trip...how long did you travel for? A fantastic page x
ReplyDeleteThat sounds amazing,Rinda.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought a trip across the US would be amazing - but I'll avoid Iowa and a mechanic called Fuzzy :lol: Fascinating page but also wonderful to hear of the stories and memories you are recalling and recording :)
ReplyDeleteYour trip was certainly a lot more eventful than ours was. We racked up nearly 8,000 miles four years ago on our cross-country trip (both ways). We saw 12 national parks/monuments, and had a fantastic time. I'd be happy to do it again!
ReplyDeletewhat an amazing trip Rinda and I love what you done with the book.... you truly are an artist and a very talented one #in-awe!!
ReplyDeleteHi Rinda! It's good to be home and catching up..I've had a very enjoyable time poring over everything you have posted while I've been away. Quite a variety! I loved seeing how you pulled off a Julie and Sian look :)
ReplyDeletebest of luck to Clara with the return to school x
ps..hope I'll be ready with a scavenger hunt post for Wednesday
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely double page, Rinda. Your journal is coming together lovely - I'm still on page 7! Loved hearing about your road trip in a VW. We have a VW camper but chose a T5 as we didn't want regular break downs which are part and parcel of older vehicles. They certainly add to the excitement of the journey, going by your experience!
ReplyDeleteGreat page! The longest driving trip I have been on is about 3000 miles. Washington DC down to Lake City FL, then up to Scotts, MI and then back to Washington DC. I had to drive the whole way and it was an exhausting but fun trip over two weeks. Would have loved to have taken longer but time was short and this was the cheapest way to go to the two places we had to for family visits. The kids remember it fondly because of all the FOOD and the Smithsonian.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip, something I have always longed to do, my longest trip was London to Scotland many, many years ago.
ReplyDeleteI've really been enjoying seeing your layouts for this book and this one is no exception. I think our longest car trip was either a very convuluted one to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (took us 4 1/2 days) or driving down to Disney World (2 1/2 days).
ReplyDelete