Thelma and Louise: The Alternate Ending

It's been too long since my last honest-to-goodness road trip.

[ me (left) & miss Dee: running from the law across the Quebec/Ontario border, 2008 ]

Suddenly jobless, just weeks before the boys head out on a mini west-coast Canadian tour with Dragonette (yes, it's confirmed!), I am jumping at the chance for a little open road. 

My friend, Miss T, who, with a whole wall in her apartment dedicated to road trip Polaroids, was an obvious choice as the Thelma to my Louise. Of course, I expect we'll have a less fatal ending. (And maybe I'm more suited to the Geena Davis role, anyway)

 [ Tabor's homage to road trippin' ]

The plan: fly to Calgary on Friday (on points), rent a car, follow the boys for 3 days through to shows in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, then fly home (on points) the following Monday morning. It's a little insane, but while still childless and unexpectedly flush with time off, I am taking full advantage. Until the day that the boys are making a lot of money, I don't suspect I'll be able to tour with them very often. 

 

 [ sometimes I am lucky enough to tag along; POP Montreal trip 2006 ]

 

A road trip through the Canadian Prairies with one of my best friends, five hot musicians, and back-to-back rock shows? What girl could possibly resist? Especially a small-town prairie girl with miles of Canadian highway already under her belt. Ahh, childhood nostalgia. This time though, I'm steering the wheel and the soundtrack is my road trip mix CD, not my Dad's favourite oldies station.

 

 [ posing with our family's wagon, 1984 ]

  

[ it's in the blood; my Dad, 1970-something ]

 

[ my first road/camping trip, 1980 ]

We're hoping to secure a little floor space in one of the boys' hotel rooms, but I may have a few couch connections, at least in Winnipeg and maybe Calgary. Anyone want to put us up for a night? It's exciting to have loose plans sometimes, even though I'm typically a pretty anal traveler. I envy my brother for that. He buys a plane ticket, lands in a foreign non-English speaking country, and manages to get by for months on end. No plan. I would question our blood relation, except that we are clearly both the spitting image of my father. 

 [ my brother at a roadside sandwich stand in Southeast Asia ]

I suppose spending money of frivolous non-essential travel is a tad irresponsible, considering my current employment situation, but i am confident something will come up shortly. I have a bit of cash flow anyway, at least for a few months. And hey, I'm a full-fledged bandwife now. I have to play the part, right? Let's be honest: I don't pull off the bad-ass rocker chick thing naturally. But touring with the band could lend me some cred. 

Rockstar status notwithstanding, everyone could use a little aimless travel once in a while. And, for a wounded (and freshly unemployed) ego, it's the perfect medicine.

A (road)trip down memory lane: scenes from the driver's seat:

 [ perfect roadtrip fuel: Starbucks Soy Caramel Macchiato, Brockville, ON 2008 ]

 [ sometimes, the options are slim... ]

  

 [ Helena , MT, 2008 ]

  

 [ Alex in Cozumel, MX, 2009 ]

  

 [ Flooding near Mt.Tremblant, QC, 2009 ]

  

 [ spooky tunnel in griffith park, LA, 2009 ]

  

[ sometimes Dudley road trips, too ]

 

[ my first, and only car... and the hair to match. Ottawa, 2001 ]

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"Remember how the map of the world resembles the map of our nervous system? The same veins and wrinkles, intricate roads, rivers and vessels." - Yoko Ono, www.twitter.com/yokoono