Taking a road trip with Mom and Dad

I was out visiting my mom and dad in September just after the Eastbound Throwdown.  I had just worked my last day in the office at my job of 33 years and I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.  Spending more time with my mom and dad.  I visited my brothers bar and helped him put a new roof on house.  I played on my first senior golf tournament with my dad and his buddies.  I just hung out trying to get used to the feeling of being retired.  The week flew by. Mom and dad were telling me about a taking a road trip down through Pennsylvania, West Virginia to North Carolina, I really wanted to go, but I didn’t ask them then when I was there.  I don’t know why.  I was thinking that maybe I was going to cramp their style.

I headed home to Maine.  My last official day of work came, where I had to go turn in my badge, my Mac computer and the corporate credit card.  I was done.  Now WHAT I GOING TO DO.  I started taking my dog for daily walks.  I often stopped by to see my buddy Bernie, who was doing some final finish work for Alison.  I kept telling him that I didn’t expect to be feeling the way I did when I stopped working.  He gave me some insight as to how I became institutionalized working for one job for so long.  He suggested, “You should take a trip”.

He was right.  I ended up calling up Mom and Dad and asked them if I could join them.  “Of course.  We would love it” they said.  They had made plans to head to Pittsburgh Pa to see the Carrie Blast Furnaces, then go down through West Virginia to see a coal mine. Ultimately,  the real destination on my mothers bucket list was to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

Well, we ended up doing all of that and then some.  We had a wonderful educational and fun filled week.  We stayed the first night in a hotel and then we did Airbnb for the rest of trip.  Each place was so neat.  A dome in Pittsburgh, Old Victorian Inn in Alderson, WV, tree top bungalow in Asheville, Dew Drop Inn in My Airy and nice town house in Strasburg, Virginia.  Dad drove most of the trip.  I was his navigator.  Using Waze, I got him to where we needed to be.  We found our nightly resting places, restaurants, diners and breweries.  We found additional points of interest along the way, like the Greenbrier in West Virginia.  They built a huge bunker there during the days of Ike.  The days went by so quickly.  It’s a trip that I will never forget.  I can’t wait to go on another one with them.

Below is a video that I put together that shows some of the highlights.  Enjoy!

Road Trip with Mom & Dad – Oct 2017 from ClydeLiberty on Vimeo.

7 Replies to “Taking a road trip with Mom and Dad”

  1. It is wonderful when parents and children can share and celebrate the changes that occur in life. Especially significant when ‘being together’ remains as important as it was from the day one started school to the day he retired from a long-held job. To me it says more than words.. mutual support and love plays such a huge role in how one approaches life and succeeds. Brian….your words and video reflect so much of who you are and how you were raised….and how you celebrated this particular change in your life. Congrats….there is a lot left to experience. Wishing you all wonderful things on this new leg of the journey…..Love, Betty

    1. Thank you so much Betty for the kind words. It truly was a wonderful trip. I can’t wait to go on another one. The week went by so quickly. Asheville, NC is an awesome area. I can’t wait to back there and head towards Nashville, TN
      Love Brian

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