(photograph © Kiwidutch)
The upside of not being allowed to drive is that I am free to sit in the front passenger seat and take photographs of our journeys.
I lament the fact that our kids these cry “sooo bored” on long car journeys and from a young age mastered the art of frighting (to what at least sounds like near death) in the back seat.
I endeavoured for years to teach them car games like “I Spy” or singing in the car, I tried paper games and bribery of ice cream upon arrivals, but to no avail: paper games resulted in pencil wars, singing, in disputes about tone, song words, which song to sing and volume, “I Spy”, arguments after 68 ”no’s” as to whether the object had really been seen 15 minutes earlier or just made up as we went past something new two seconds ago and the ice creams never delivered because they were never earned.
Himself and I got sick of trying to control the meltdown of two terrible monsters in the back seat without having meltdown ourselves and found it hard to believe that when they were out with other people that they were cherubic examples of sweetness and light, so much so that friends and relatives raved about their saintly behaviour (so it IS apparently possible, it’s just that Himself and I have never actually witnessed it).
After several (actually all) disastrous long car journeys for the first 6 years of their existence together, were Himself and I (barely) resisted stopping by a canal and throwing said little monsters into the water to sink or swim as they may, we bought Nintendo game machines to provide some distraction.
I tempered the purchase with the strict rule: Only for use on long car and plane journeys and they have to wait half an hour into the journey before the “on” button is activated.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Suddenly peace reigned in the back seat and car journeys became about 500% less stressful.
I on the other hand have to look out of the window, the window has to be as clean as possible and I have to be facing forwards, otherwise the result is that I turn green and emergency stops are required whilst I make swift exits of vehicles to return breakfast / lunch / dinner to whatever nature is by the side of the road.
For me, looking out of the window is never boring, you see funny things, strange vehicles, architectural edifices ranging from the good to the bad to the ugly and you learn about the countryside you are travelling though.
Little Mr. does have an uncanny knack for looking up from his game just in time to scream: Train! Police car!, Ambulance!, Fire engine!, or Tractor! as appropriate, but for the rest is more interested in the adventures of Mario and Luigi. Today’s interesting stuff as seen from the road include some mystery constructions: energy pylons maybe? something to do with a new high speed rail link (that was maybe due in this area if I remembered correctly, or completely somewhere else if I didn’t), maybe something to do with a new over bridge?
Who knows?… Your best guesses are most welcome.
We see windmills in all sorts of places, giant fibreglass fruit in the middle of a roundabout and (as you do) a not so small aeroplane fuselage sans wings standing next to a barn (the guest quarters? or a build-it-yourself and he’s still saving for the wings? ). Certainly discussion points and they give us a giggle too… all you have to do is keep your eyes peeled, how on earth can a car journey be boring?
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
We park the cars in a parking area (i.e. paddock) at the end of a tiny road, and climb the steps of the dyke to follow a little path that is next to the canal on top of the dyke … the next stage of the adventure unfolds…
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
I love being the front-seat passenger in a long car ride! This works out great for my husband and me, since he gets antsy if he’s not in control of the vehicle (and he can drive for hours without getting fatigued). We did have to plan for onboard entertainment when our kids were young, though, and sometimes even the little beeping electronic gadgets didn’t work. Don’t worry, kiwidutch, soon enough they’ll be adults and can do some of the driving themselves. (Although that might be more worrying than reassuring!)
Comment by Luddy's Lens — February 26, 2013 @ 7:21 pm |