When Lucey woke up this morning, the first thing he asked me was “Can we go to the arcade?” Then he said, “We have to go.“ Why? “Because I didn’t share the toys I bought with my money yesterday with Will. I want to get a hundred more to share with him.”
Today is our last full day on the road trip. The weather wasn’t great again, but we made the most of it. We accomplished a lot. Motorhome cleaned and ready for unloading in Mountain Lakes and storage. Shot baskets. Playground. Swimming. Another $20 blown at the arcade. Campfire and s’mores one last time.
We are excited to get home and see Jenny and our friends, but we are going to miss the freedom and little moments of joy that come with open days and roads. On the walk down to the dumpster, Will said he was sad to see the end of the road trip. I asked why. “Because school is going to start. It seems really exciting at the start, but then it slowly becomes boring.” Isn’t the road trip boring sometimes? He thought for a few seconds. “Not really.” Really? Never boring?” Not really because something fun is always around the corner.”
For me the best parts of these trips are the seemingly most insignificant. The time when Lucas was playing my grandfather’s harmonica very poorly and Will and I were giving him moment-by-moment feedback on how off key he was via our synchronized thumbs slowly oscillating between thumbs up and thumbs down. Laughter from the three of us the whole time. Will’s excitement when ran over to tell me he had captured the opposing team’s flag in a massive game of capture the flag. Lucas getting Will lotion when he was itchy and frustrated.
I figure it is best to close out the travelogue for this year’s incredible trip with the boys’ voices rather than mine.
Professor No More 