Many of my favorite childhood memories were the trips I took with my family in the summertime. Both of may parents were teachers and, come the 2nd week of June, school was out and we “Hit the road”. For many years that involved a Chevy Impala towing a Pop-up trailer. As the years went on we graduated to a “real” trailer with hard sides and everything. As we drove around the country (usually ending up in Montana) my Mom and Dad would keep a daily travel journal. Every gas stop, every motel or campground overnight, every toll….. I can pull out those journals and see the price per gallon and how many miles we traveled that day.
Usually my Dad would dictate a daily summary of the previous day that, while factual, was pretty darn funny. Many family inside jokes came from these narratives. After one summer my Mom’s nickname went from “flub” to “Spot” due to a particular pair of Orange pants with white spots on them….. Such was life not the road with the Howses.
As my lovely bride of 34 years and I prepared to embark on our first European trip I had the bright idea of doing a daily blog. I had my new, shiny, iPad Pro with a keyboard cover and the top rated journaling application to record my adventures. We are now eight days into our trip and I realize that I am just not a journaling guy. We have been way too busy dodging scooters and climbing ruins and getting needed power naps for me to have the daily disclipine to pen a journal entry. As I thought back to my younger days I realized that my parents were really creating a pen and ink blog of our travels many decades before the internet was even created.
The “TravelingHippogators.com” is my attempt to apply some of their great knowledge and love for each other into something that Kim and I can create going forward. As grandchildren get older the opportunities to travel will only increase. Hopefully we can capture some of the great stories and experiences here like my Mom and Dad did so many decades ago.
− Your Humble Scribe
The Traveling Hippogators 