21 June 2012

Road trips are always a great time. Being trapped inside of a small space with people that you care about can provide for some funny times. Sharing music, talking, sleeping, snacking, etc. are all fun to do. Looking at the different scenery is even better. It's as if time stands still - you see the landscapes change and evolve right before your eyes. Some areas remain dried out, parched from the lack of rainfall, while others are lush and overflowing with life. The brilliant colors that cascade throughout the hills aren't something that you can see everyday when you're driving through the city or walking around your backyard. Like turning back time, traveling to more remote areas can bring a sense of nostalgia. Wanting to return to "the good ol' days" and be young again. To relive your most precious moments over and over again so that you'll never forget. While this isn't always truly possible, recreating the moment somehow can pose as a good stand in for a certain memory. The best recreated memories are those that are done by surprise and that are recreated well. Every detail noted, nothing ever left out. It brings joy to people who identify with these things, helping to remind them of what things were like "way back when."

The element of surprise just makes things more fun and "on the fly." The only way we're able to relive moments of our lives today is mainly through pictures. We take so many, scrapbook them all, and then try to recreate the memory...just in a book with captions instead of spoken words like a video would have. The best memories in life are the ones that are created while trying to be crazy and make up something to go along with whatever else is happening at the moment - trying to make the most of whatever comes your way. And while the city life provides for good times with lots of people and places to see, maybe the most memorable times are the ones spent with fewer people and fewer places - discovering something closer to you instead of closer to what everyone else wants you to always see.