See the U.S.A.

Written by Kara Bowman, Educator

If you live in America, or even if you don’t, it’s likely that you’ve had the urge to see for yourself some of this huge, varied, spectacular land of ours. Everything is available here: a rich history, awe-inspiring natural environments, incredible man-made wonders, varied peoples and cultures, and spiritual inspiration. Part of loving our country is seeing our country, and so my brother and I were inspired when we were in college to take our turn making a trip across our great land.

Our particular trip had the dual purpose of moving my brother from an internship in Silicon Valley back to his college in Michigan so we had our start and end points. We plotted a southerly route through Los Angeles, Arizona, Texas and Missouri in order to avoid snow in the mountains, seeing as we were too cheap to buy chains. We had plenty of time though, to meander and stop to see great sights along the way.

I arrived on an airplane at 2am and awoke the next morning to a torrential downpour that was equaled in its fury only by its rarity, or so I was told. My brother had not finished his errands before moving, so I climbed into the passenger seat, which was gathering water from a large drip where the windshield met the frame, and I spent my Northern California sightseeing time slogging through the rain doing errands. Oh well, there was much more to see ahead of us.

Unfortunately, due to the rain and the schedule of someone we were driving to LA, we decided not to take Highway 1 along the coast, one of the most scenic highways in the world. We made it to Disneyland (and swiftly spent our budget for several days), but misestimated the distance from there to the house of some relatives we were visiting, so we had to skeedaddle in order to spend the day driving across LA (or so it felt). We got slightly lost in those pre-cell phone, pre-internet days, so we pulled up in Laguna Beach several hours late but thankfully in time to sleep. Years later, I found out that our relatives saw our old station wagon with the 2x4 bumper pull away from the curb in the morning and were certain we were never going to make it home.

So, the next day, we were really setting off. We were very focused on reaching the Grand Canyon and spending a couple of days there so we blew some money on a hotel for efficiency, even though our plan was to camp. When we were fifteen miles from the lip of the canyon, our car suddenly came down with an illness. We sputtered to the side of the road at a little metropolis boasting a motel with an attached ‘fine dining establishment’, a gift shop, and a gas station/auto repair shop. We were told the car had a small problem and needed a part which could be ordered for delivery in four short days. My brother and I bonded over cribbage, HBO and anticipating the daily restaurant special while we bided our time. Once the car was repaired, we drove to the edge of the Grand Canyon, took a good long look, and headed back to the highway in order to make up for lost time. About twenty miles down the road, the car quit completely. Some nice Canadians stopped (“you never pass a car on the side of the road in wintertime in Canada”), removed the new thermostat, which hadn’t been the problem, diagnosed the problem, and sent us to the nearest repair shop. Two days later, we were on the road again to Texas.

It’s just possible that our current image of Texas might be slightly influenced by the fact that we spent our time there on the floor in the hallway of a Holiday Inn with several hundred other people after the highways were closed due to ‘the worst ice-storm we can remember’. Another great meal in a hotel restaurant and we were rolling again.

About this time, we pulled into a gas station and two men came running up to helpfully inform us that our tires were about to blow but they could sell us new ones at a good price. Wanting to be savvy travelers, but being completely naïve about cars, my brother and I decided our tires probably weren’t about to blow but we’d better not drive at night just in case – especially since our wooden bumper wouldn’t hold a jack.

This is when my brother decided it would be a good time to get sick. We called our grandparents to check in and must have sounded pathetic because, frugal as they were, they immediately offered us money to fly home. Abandoning the car wouldn’t have been an obstacle but, unfortunately, my brother had agreed to drop a friend’s TV set at his house in Indiana so we were saddled with our good deed and had to turn down the offer.

We drove through Missouri and did get to see the arch, so that was a highlight. By the time we got to Indiana (after making a three hour round-trip TV detour that seemed like nothing when we were looking at the map back in California), it was December 31st. We stopped in a small town motel, having given up on our plans to camp several states ago due to feeling sorry for ourselves, and were looking forward to seeing the only entertainment in town: a disco band at the Holiday Inn. Unfortunately, my index finger took the rare lull in the action as an opportunity to swell up and turn green. Thinking it was just an infection, I was going to see how it was in the morning but we made the mistake of calling our mother to wish her a Happy New Year. After diagnosing my malady over the phone, she pronounced that I had blood poisoning so we were off to find an emergency room. We drove around for some time before we came upon a sign marked “Indian Hospital”. We walked around the darkened exterior and found a kindly nurse who gave me a tube of ointment for my infection – no charge – and sent us on our way. Being too tired and in too much pain to party down, we hit the sack at 11pm.

Another 300 miles (at 55 miles per hour, thanks to President Carter), and we were home. After calculating the number of sights we’d seen on our great adventure, we arrived at the number two: a few minutes staring at the Grand Canyon and a photo of the St. Louis arch taken from the car window while we were moving.

So what did we learn by seeing America up close and personal? By all means, go out and experience what our wonderful land has to offer. Just remember to take a lot of money and a very good traveling partner. And to call your mother once you’ve arrived safely home.

Feeling inspired to discover our magnificent country for yourself? Maybe you’d be better off staying home and exploring these products from the Museum Tour catalog. You can start by reading Great States with your kids to learn about the history and geography of each state. With little ones, you can read Follow That Map, which teaches map skills as Sally searches for a mischievous dog and cat on the lam. Experience our national pastime from the comfort of home with Old Century Baseball, a handcrafted pinball-style game. You can even build a Native American Village with our creative diorama kit.