Giggles and bare feet on the dashboard

Somedays I just get flashes of great memories. Today, I found myself listening to online country radio... and well, that just spells trouble right there. Unlike many urban dwellers, I love country music. I don't listen to it exclusively, but it reminds me of summers back home... beer on the porch with friends in the summer, beachy trips, adventures or various random road trips (such as Dad's inclination one summer to hit up all the small towns in Ontario with waterfalls). Today, it was of a road trip from a time I went home last year... I'm thinking it was for one of Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary shindigs.

You see, it was May. I had two sisters eagerly anticipating senior prom. So, while Kiki was working, Kaye and I decided we would have ourselves a trip to the mall (about 45 minutes from home). All went fine and dandy, we had a great drive singing along to tunes on the radio... we scored a classic, super cheap prom dress (that Kaye is known for being thrifty), we decided to grab a bite to eat and call Mom to let her know we were beginning the journey home...

...and then, we got lost.

We came out of the city from a completely different way that we went in. We had no clue where we were. We did not have a map. And Kaye and I have a reputation for having absolutely no sense of direction. It would seem as though we were doomed.

But Kaye and I giggled and pointed ourselves in the direction that home was surely in and went on our merry way. We were keeping our eyes open for signs that we were on the right or wrong track. We did come across a town with a gas station, thought we may find a map... but it was closed. So, we just figured we'd keep going, and this is something how it went:

"Berlett Road? We know some Berletts! Good sign!" Keep going.
"Cows! We have cows! Good sign!" Keep going.
"Cemetary! Uh oh, bad sign, bad sign!" Turn.
"Wellesley: Home of Apple Butter and Cheese Festival. I like apple butter. I like cheese. That's definitely a good sign!" Keep going.
"Abandoned house? Bad sign!" Turn.
"Oh look at that... military guys? Why are there military guys in camoflaged Jeeps in the middle of nowhere? They have guns? Um... good sign? ... maybe?" Keep going.

Everytime we spotted a "sign" we would burst into fits of giggles. And, strangely enough, we made it to "Anna Mae's! GREAT SIGN!"... because then, we knew exactly where we were and how to get home from there. We had managed to turn ourselves in the right direction amidst our travels and made it safely home.

We were torn between telling people or not as they may never have let us take out the car or travel together again... but in the end decided that the story was far too hilarious to keep Mom out of the loop. Others expressed their astonishment that Kaye and I survived. Without a map. On our own. But we knew all along that we would make it... and we just enjoyed the ride.

Cheesy moral of the story: You don't need a map, or a set of concrete plans to get where you are going. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut.