Slipstream - August 2020

Like many people these days, our vacation plans have
been cancelled or put on hold. But, for those who still
have jobs, vacation time continues to accrue. And in
Frank’s case, he had accumulated nearly two weeks of
vacation time he needed to use or lose by the end of July.
What to do . . . .
Neither of us really wanted to fly anywhere at this
point. But we both have mothers who live out of state:
one in Tennessee and one in Indiana. They both have been
focused on staying in the comfort of their homes as much
as possible, but had dropped hints that they were getting
kind of lonely. So, we decided to take a road trip!
Friday, July 3: Dallas to Collierville, TN. Our typical
route over the Christmas holiday is to drive to Frank’s
parents’ house just outside Memphis, then drive the second
day to my Mom’s house in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On
this trip, we followed that path, but Frank’s mother was
actually out of town for the weekend, visiting her sister, so
we would see her on the way back.
Saturday, July 4: Collierville, TN to Fort Wayne, IN. A
full day on the road, with a stop for lunch at White Castle
in Bowling Green, KY. No inside dining available that day,
so we went through the drive up window and ate in the car
(sorry, VW!). The bridge across the Ohio River at Louisville
looks kind of like the Dallas bridges to nowhere. Arrived at
Mom’s house in time for dinner. Outside temperature: only
79 degrees at 5:02 pm! When’s the last time we saw temps
like that here?
Sunday, July
5: Spent the day
at my brother’s
lake house on
Lake Pleasant,
on the Indiana/
Michigan border.
Very relaxing day
- apparently I fell
asleep outside, on a lawn chair in the shade overlooking the
lake. I was told by one of my nephews that I was snoring
(no photo available).
Monday, July 6: Checked a few things off the list around
Mom’s house, and later had dinner with my mother and
godmother (best friends since high school). We couldn’t
find a restaurant open that evening, so we picked up a pizza
and took it over to Judy’s house - thankfully, she tends to
be well-stocked on wine.
Tuesday, July 7: Looking through some old photos,
found one of me and my grandfather checking out a mid-
60s Corvette; not sure if that was before or after we admired
the Porsche 356 next to it. Then after a pre-birthday sushi
lunch for Frank, we headed south to visit my sister and
2 August
Board Botschaft: The “Moms” Tour
by Chris Flaugh, Region Treasurer
her husband at their home in Noblesville, IN. Grilled pork
chops for dinner, and more wine!
Wednesday, July 8: Frank’s birthday - he received the
traditional birthday greeting my sister bestows on her four
boys. Then we departed from Noblesville to Collierville,
TN. Arrived in time for Frank to enjoy a southern birthday
dinner of his mother’s homemade fried chicken, okra, and
mashed potatoes (and some champagne). Back to Dallas at
the end of the week.
Total miles driven: 2,292. Average MPG: 40.2. No
speeding tickets. Sorry, we didn’t take a Porsche on this
road trip, drove the VW Passat TDI. Next road trip will be
in a Porsche. Meanwhile, this was a great opportunity to get
out for a change of scenery and to see some people we had
not seen for a while. Phone calls, Zoom calls, Facebook
group calls, etc. are all great, but sometimes you just need a
bit more personal interaction. Everyone has their own
comfort level, but this worked for us! We travelled at our
own pace, in the safety
of our own car, avoided
crowds, limited
personal interactions
as much as possible,
and wore a mask when
appropriate. Stay safe
out there!