Get Out and Drive ’em

By Andy Moutenot

How do you say goodbye to someone you have known for 46 years? Losing a spouse to deadly cancer can be traumatic. First, the shock, soon followed by anger, then resignation, and finally heartache accompanied by a deep sense of loneliness were all part of my new life. I was lost and deeply troubled with little sense of direction or purpose. What saved me may sound trite, possibly nonsensical but in truth it was a gift that had its beginnings long before this story started to unfold.

I have always been a car guy from my earliest memories. I loved anything with wheels and a motor. Early on I had a model A Ford Tudor sedan that kept me mobile, if not somewhat reliable but certainly not due to its age or condition. From that humble beginning, I owned a string of sports cars of various marques and running condition over the years, but the one constant was my Morgan roadster. Cars would come and go, but this one was the one constant in my life, along with my beautiful wife and 2 daughters. We drove this car to shows, picnics, outings and pretty much everywhere. It was a true part of the family.  As I neared retirement, it would be the car my wife and I would take across country on one of our bucket list items. It would be a chance to see family and friends along the way while visiting some of our nation’s wonderful national parks. It would be a trip of a lifetime.

Sadly, my wife’s lifetime ended way too soon for us to make the trip together but little did I realize that my little Morgan, and more importantly my children’s strong encouragement, had different plans in store. It was that reconnection with my car and through that quirky little machine, I learned more about life and my place in it.

The adventures and memories from that trip will last a lifetime. I drove nearly 10,000 miles, traversed 21 states, visited 6 National Parks, drove over the Rockies, Sierra Nevadas, the Cascades and a Rand McNally full of lesser mountain ranges. I stayed off the interstates and sought out a bucket load of small towns. Each was unique but they all seem to have that “corner coffee shop or sandwich place” where over coffee I  learned a lot more than a travel brochure or Fodor’s guide could offer. Over a lot of coffee, I was able to find and explore some really neat stuff, most of it not on any travel flyer but definitely a lot of fun and while some places and things could be absolutely strange they all are a part of the tapestry that makes our country and its citizens so special. Meeting so many wonderful people was just one part of the adventure that helped me realize that while I was hurting these special adventures were beginning to chip away at the emptiness.

The trip, as mentioned was originally a fulfillment of a bucket list item so the route focused on seeing family and friends but through pure happenstance I also met some wonderful folks, strangers at first who I am happy to say became very good friends. I was on the road for almost 7 weeks and eventually wound up in Washington state where as a result of the Internet I was reintroduced to a friend I had not seen since grade school. It was a true “Tinker, to Ever’s to Chance” moment and it all began on the World Wide Web where a woman in Arizona who was a childhood girlfriend of my old childhood friend’s sister saw my Facebook blog and reintroduced me to Dave, a good buddy from elementary school. How neat was that? My Morgan was the icebreaker that gave me the chance to meet a “barnstormer” who piloted a vintage biplane in Southern Ohio. In Wyoming, I met a real honest to goodness cowboy. In Nevada, I met a lady who helped me get back on track after being hopelessly lost on a back country road. Out of the goodness of her heart, she stopped after seeing me studying my Rand McNally that was draped over the bonnet of my car. I met countless waitresses, waiters and “town folks” who enjoyed my adventure and were willing to chat and just be neighborly. In Fargo North Dakota I met a young lady at the local hospital (another story but best left unsaid) who fixed me up and spoke “Fargo” to me after telling her my all time favorite movie was indeed Fargo. She was a hoot! I could go on, but you get the idea. I was blessed to meet some truly outstanding people and they all seem to drop into my adventure at the most interesting and convenient of times. Now that I am back home I am already thinking of my next adventure. Maybe the southern states and the southwest or maybe up to Canada. My local club’s motto, “get out and driv’em” seems like a pretty good idea. It sure was for me.