Anybody since World War II who has taken a vacation in car
has dealt with this question at one point or another. Of course today with video players mounted on
the backs of seats where the kids can watch movies while belted into their
safety seats it is somewhat better. The
advent of air conditioning has helped cut the parent rage factor down and
almost eliminated the seats sticking to your legs.
Yet my history tidbit today takes us back to 1843, and
starts in this author’s hometown of Independence, Missouri. Independence is probably most famous for
being the home town of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, but it also noteworthy
from before that as being the starting point of three great trails that headed
West. The California Trail, the Sante Fe
Trail, and the Oregon Trail. The city
has a festival every Labor Day weekend commemorating the three trails called
Sante-Cali-Gon Days.
On this date May 22, 1843, a massive wagon train made up of
one thousand settlers and a thousand head of cattle set off on the Oregon Trail
from Independence, Missouri. This was
known as the Great Emigration. It took
the group until October to reach Oregon which was two-thousand miles to the
west. Five months in a covered wagon
crossing two-thousand miles with everything you own and living off supplies you’re
carrying.
That makes our trips in the
family mini-van, complete with air conditioning, entertainment in many forms,
cup holders, with food options such as stopping at a restaurant or pulling into
a drive through seem like a dream vacation.
As you’re planning your get-a-way for the upcoming Holiday
weekend for Memorial Day, please remember to check out my book “Whisper” which
will be on sale all weekend on Amazon dot com, at 75% off. That’s right for .99 cents you can treat
yourself to a time traveling adventure aboard the USS Whisper and her
adventures.
See the trailer on YouTube here - http://youtu.be/sb6HB3EdglM
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