The Sunday Rides

It is hard to believe there was a time when life was so simple.

Sunday afternoon or after dinner, Dad would say “Let’s go for a ride”.

He would load all of us on the station wagon and off we would go.

Destination unknown.

We would roll down the windows and feel the breeze against our faces.

In the summer, it would be a warm breeze but it beat the heat of our bedroom.

In the early years, there was no fan in our bedroom window.

Later on a box fan was put in the bedroom window.

All it really did was circulate the hot air.

And of course, the car didn’t have air conditioning.

Well, at least those of us with a window seat felt the breeze. 

There was normally a battle for who got stuck in the middle of second seat.

If the third seat was folded open that caused a new battle as to who got to ride backwards.

Dad would stop at a local gas station (Sinclair gas I think) and ask for $2 or maybe $5 worth of “high test”.

The gas attendant would ask “do you want your oil checked?”, as he cleaned the windshield.

We would ride for an hour or more.

I am not sure Dad even knew where we were headed.  

A rare stop at a Howard Johnson’s for an ice cream cone was a major treat.

During a milk strike in NY, I remember Dad driving us into Connecticut to find milk to get us through the week.

I knew how far we had traveled because the apartment buildings began fading away and we would turn on to some highway .

Then there would be trees.

On my South Bronx street there wasn’t one tree.

When we move to the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx, there were a few trees (maybe 2) on the sidewalk of our block.

The Sunday car rides were an adventure.

Music on the radio.

I can still see my Dad, left arm handling on the side of his open window and right hand on the steering wheel.

Before we knew it we were back home.

Dad would then enjoy parallel parking the wagon in some tight parking space. The price you paid for moving you car.

I guess “taking a ride” is in my genes.

Unfortunately, with todays gas prices you cannot take off just on a whim.

I have found you can find places of interest while running errands.

This morning, it was a big shock that Jenn and I were out of the house at 9:06.

A quick trip to Walmart followed by a stop to pick up bagels from our favorite bagel shop.

We then went to Port Royal which is just a few miles away.

One of our favorite shops, Maynards, has finally reopened.

We picked up a few items there and we were ready to fill up the tank and head home.

Then I remembered a few weeks ago taking a short cut on some back roads and could see some shrimp boats docked.

I decided today was the time to find them.

Jenn and I ventured back and forth and finally saw a parking lot with a lot of cars.

We headed over that way.

We saw a sign for a restaurant called “The Fishcamp”.

And there they were, the shrimp boats.

We pulled in the parking lot, Jenn got out and snapped a few pictures.

She also took a picture of a small cruise ship that is normally up in the Great Lakes area that has been here since COVID hit.  It were brought here to be worked on and it was cheaper to keep it docked here.

I am sure some time soon, it will be gone and make it’s trip back north.

Below are a few of the pictures that Jenn took today.

While it may not have been the Sunday rides that my dad took us on, it was a fun adventure this morning.

I drove home with a smile on my face from what I had just seen and what I had remembered from those Sunday’s past.

Anything that makes me smile and brings back good memories is well…..priceless.

See you next week.