Writing Road Trip
Traveling Like a Rock Star
I may not have to fight off paparazzi like a movie star, but I’m still spy-worthy when my knickers are down. And roadies don’t load my car, but oftentimes I feel like a rock star before the day of a school visit is over.
The place I go back to…
There is a particular road trip that has become a summer ritual for me, a journey that takes me to another time as well as another place: going to The Lake.
Let me show you this great video I took on my trip…
Developing your voice as a writer is a little like bouncing to “un-stick” an airboat…without the danger of alligators.
Journeying Inside
A surefire revision tactic: reading something out loud ensures that students will hear mistakes they have never noticed before.
Driving Past Effingham
A surefire revision tactic: reading something out loud ensures that students will hear mistakes they have never noticed before.
Moseying
My favorite road trips focus more on the discoveries the journey holds than on rapidly reaching a destination. You might call me a moseying kind of person. Every fall, my mom and I load my nephews and niece into the car for one of my favorite meanders: a visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. In the years it has
Secret Destination
If I hadn’t made the trip myself, I don’t think I would believe how quickly you can travel from the curious world of the Las Vegas Strip to what seems to be its diametrical opposite: the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Red Rock is composed of desert and rock formations, the kind of place that inspired one website
The Quest
My one visit to Hawaii might best be defined by an afternoon quest. I was there to say goodbye to my cousin, who was coming to the end of her battle with cancer. I discovered she had developed a singular ambition: to find a pair of size 11 ruby slippers. She took great pleasure in the thought of giving
Treasure Hunt
One of my favorite road-trip memories is “mud-puddling” in western North Carolina. We had followed signs that lured us in with the promise of gemstones practically free for the taking. The space we wandered into looked like a roadside picnic area, and seemed ideal for the kind of lazy afternoon we had in mind. We each purchased buckets of
Time Travel
When you tour Rome, you’re not always sure if you’re traveling in taxis or time machines. Down one street, you’re transported back to around 2,000 years ago, watching the Christians take on the lions in the Forum. Head down another street, and you’re enraptured by one of Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpieces. Turn your head, and you see — the
Roads Not Taken
My brother’s driving directions are full of “roads not taken.” He’ll say something like, “Go about a mile and you’ll see Hamilton. Don’t turn there! You want the next street.” But without fail, I see Hamilton, remember that it was part of his directions, and turn before I’m supposed to. My father and I are equally directionally incompatible. He’ll recite
Misdirected
Several years ago a friend and I got lost driving through New Orleans. Eventually we pulled over so I could ask a gas station attendant for directions. He rattled off a set of instructions in a Cajun accent, ending with, “then take the Hoopalong.” I looked at my road map. No Hoopalong. I asked him to point it out to me. His finger
Road Food Re-Mix
by Lisa Bullard I love seeking out oddball road food opportunities. In New Jersey: a Chinese-Italian buffet where the spaghetti and lo mein rubbed shoulders like long-lost cousins. In Nashville: a Swedish-Southern all-you-can-eat spread, with fried chicken and pickled herring vying for attention. In New York City: a Greek-Mexican café. Many of the world’s diverse taste temptations are no longer
Return Visit
by Lisa Bullard San Francisco has an eerie quality of reinvention that is unique to that city for me. When I make return visits to other destinations, the visual “pieces” from each trip start to fit together like giant jigsaw puzzles, and eventually I form an integrated picture of the whole place. But despite the number of times
Well-Traveled Paths
by Lisa Bullard I slip into auto-pilot when I’m driving through overly familiar territory; I stop taking in the same old landmarks. And then one day, there’s a stop sign where there’s never been one before, and my eyes are re-opened to the possibilities around me. There are “story paths” like that too: fairy tales and other