When we traveled in our VW’s, each family member grabbed his one or two large paper grocery sacks and filled them with the gear that he would need for the trip. This was a quick and efficient manner not only for packing one’s personal effects but also for packing into the Beetle. Presto! Luggage is too space-consuming.
This became so routine that I could announce a trip at a moment’s notice and all four of us could be ready to go in short order. Even the miniature black-and-tan Dachshund, “Molasses”, knew the routine. He paid little attention, to the untrained eye–yet, as soon as someone reached for his leash, he was alert and present. He knew his spot on the front floorboard beneath my wife Neva’s feet and would stay curled there with a blanket covering him until we stopped for a rest break. Then, he would be all “business”!
Most of our trips involved going the 372 miles (yes, I calculated them carefully) from our front door in Garland, Texas to my parents’ front door in Lubbock, Texas. We usually got up at 2 A. M. and were loaded into a Beetle and out of the driveway by 2:30. By 3:30, we had exited Fort Worth, Texas on I-30/20 and were headed into the darkness that enveloped us in the nothingness that was west of that city.
Aside from a rest stop, the only other stop would be for gasoline; once.
Traveling this early gave several advantages. There was little traffic. Our two children were fairly sleepy at that time of day, so they busied themselves with sleep. Neva kept me awake, plying me with raw carrots, celery and other crunchies and something to drink–usually canned pop WITH CAFFINE! These items were stashed between the children in the rear seat or the space between the front and rear seats. They would hand-up anything that was “ordered”. In this way, we passed the time quite nicely.
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