Saturday, 6 July 2019

On the Road - Sepia Saturday 477

It's Saturday. It's raining. I'm packing for a road trip; and trying to get it into my head that this year is going to be different from last year, when the whole of Sweden was stuck in an abnormal heat wave all summer. This year, I'm likely to need umbrellas, rain-and-wind-proof jackets and warm sweaters - as well as sandals and lighter clothes and sunglasses. It's that kind of summer: One needs to pack for all eventualities. 


We'll be skipping the bikes and canoes, though! 
As if the thought would ever even have entered my mind! ;)
 

This is a car spotted on last year's road trip.

Neither are we (brother & I) bringing all the stuff involved to set up roadside picnics like those in our childhood:

 Dad and my brother near Dartmoor (Devon, England),1971. 

 Same trip, up in Scotland near Loch Ness

Looking back at our family holidays in the 1960s and 70s, I'm at awe with all the planning and packing it must have involved for our parents. (And no internet to help back then, either!)

Linking to Sepia Saturday 477

21 comments:

  1. Love the photo of the folding table and chairs! Yes, there was so much trip planning involved back then — perhaps more so than today when there are so many “packable” travel gear options to ease the preparation. Hope your trip goes well and that you bring along everything that is needed!

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    1. Thanks Molly. As we won't really be very far from civilization at any point, I'm sure we'll be fine :)

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  2. Glad they had the folding furniture, as it looked kind of damp as they were in raingear. Hope your vacation is everything you wish for.

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    1. Thanks Barbara. The one thing that one cannot really plan when booking a vacation is the weather!

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  3. So far, we've had a hot and dry June, but July looks a bit more mixed in my area.
    Yes, how did we manage all,our travelling, booking etc. without the internet! Your family holidays are such precious memories, thank you for sharing some of them here with us.

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    1. Meike, we had a mixed June and it seems that July will continue that way. At the moment, forecasts not looking too bad for "our kind" of trip. (I.e. driving/walking around looking at things rather than lying still on a beach.)

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  4. our picnic consisted of sandwiches made on the trunk or hood of the 1953 Pontiac.. with a red and white table cloth spread out. we ate standing. so far our summer is HOT, hope your weather allows you to enjoy your trip with your brother..

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    1. Table cloth on the hood of a Pontiac sounds quite posh! (lol)

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  5. That first photo of the red car packed with canoe & bikes reminded me of our 1981 Honda Accord packed for a camping trip. There were two steep sharp hairpin turns on the highway where we were going & I was so worried about the weight of the packing I actually got down on my hands and knees to look under the car to see how low the tailpipe was. The first sharp turn was uneventful. The second caused a small 'tick tick' sound but that was all. Whew!!! :)

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  6. I hope you don't get much rain! Here, every day has been rain, and supposed to rain way into the middle of next week. PLUS a heat wave! Maybe by the time you leave, it will be over! Goodness, that car is so loaded it's a wonder it doesn't tip right over!

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    1. Ginny, at the moment the forecasts are not looking too bad.

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  7. Thanks for sharing your road trip memories. Did they have a motor club that provided route maps and accommodation lists back then? I remember AAA did so in the US.

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    1. Susan, I don't remember. All the details back then were handled by my parents!

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  8. Gosh the car in the top photo looks well laden down with activities they're probably planning on doing but I love the old car in the last photo.

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    1. That was our car at the time, Amy (a Volvo). I don't know what I was doing outside (except, obviously, taking a photo!), but that's my parents and my brother inside the car.

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  9. My father was an army officer and our camping trips were like basic training expeditions, often using military surplus equipment. The smell of wet musty canvas still makes shiver. When the first Volkswagen camper buses came out in the US my dad feel in love and eventually went through 4 models. The beauty of the VW camper was that there was a place for everything and my dad was determined he would always carry EVERY thing.
    Hope your holiday is drier than Devon and warmer than Scotland.

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    1. Mike, my dad always liked to be prepared for everything as well. We never went camping on our family holidays though. In Sweden we stayed in hostels and in England in cheap hotels/B&Bs. (Nowadays I prefer even higher standard if I can find it without going bankrupt!)

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  10. I never camped as a child but we had many outings and picnics when on holiday. Holidays then were so much more structured then. Enjoy your holiday whatever the weather. Yesterday here was dire here in the morning but today is the best day of the year so far.

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  11. I remember those folding tables and chairs for a roadside picnic - saved sitting on often damp grass. We got detailed route maps from the AA and as children always enjoyed saluting back the AA men on their motor bikes., who we passed on the road.



    !

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  12. Yes I remember the days of mum packing picnic lunches and taking everything virtually except the kitchen sink.

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