Kids are so inspiring. I picked up three of my grandchildren from school today, Joey, Oliver and Aubrey, and after our customary stop for drinks and snacks, the kids suggested a game. We would drive away from the house, and at every intersection, the kids would take turns choosing a direction. We would continue with this “pick a direction” game until time to head home, and then find our way back.
It sounded like an adventure to me!
After dropping off backpacks at their home, we loaded back into the car. The kids asked if they could each take their pet along. Carl the dog and the cats, Mittens and Nakoma, all well behaved when riding in the car, joined us. And off we went.
Joey selected our direction at the first intersection…left. Aubrey chose the next course change…right. And Oliver’s choice was straight ahead. At each crossroad, the kids took turns deciding which way to go, and I drove accordingly.
I added a requirement to the adventure. I asked each child to watch for something interesting, unusual or beautiful that caught their attention, and requested that they take a photo with my iPhone. They were willing participants.
We drove on country roads, venturing out into areas unknown. The sky was overcast but the countryside, awakening with bursts of colors and tender shades of green, gave us plenty to talk about and ohhhh and ahhhh over. We quite unexpectedly ended up at the rustic gates of Camp Cyokamo. I’ve heard of this remote campground, but I’d never seen it before. I snapped a pic. The gates were open, an invitation to explore, and we circled the camp.
This large glass greenhouse, beautifully lit up, caught the attention of all of us. I pulled over so Aubrey could capture this gorgeous surprise, which sparked our imaginations and initiated animated conversations.
On one of the roads we wandered down, we came upon a property with row after row of old, rusty tractors. We all exclaimed over the site of so many farm vehicles and speculated about the collectors. Were they farmers? How long had they been buying old tractors? Joey took great photos.
By now I had no idea where we were. We drove down gravel county roads, turned on paved lanes with names like Nutmeg and Redbud, and crisscrossed over rivers, or the same river many times, on concrete bridges. The pets had all curled up and fallen asleep.
When my daughter-in-law texted to say she was headed home from work, we knew it was time to find our way back. I allowed each child to choose one more direction. And Oliver photographed an American flag rippling in the breeze. His grin alerted me that he had shifted his focus, sneaking in a close up of Yaya at the wheel!
I am grateful that my phone has a GPS! I not only didn’t know where we were, I didn’t know how to find my way back. As I now drove following Siri’s directions, I was surprised to realize how far north and west we had gone. In a few minutes, however, we crossed a familiar highway and I got my bearings. We arrived home just ahead of Megan.
What a fun game we played, and what adventurous and innovative grandchildren I have. What I enjoyed the most was that the kids were engaged and we had fun chatting and laughing. There were no electronics going in the car…no YouTube videos playing, no electronic games in use, no apps being downloaded. We talked. And wondered about things. And let random directions guide us to new sights.
It was fun. It was the adventures of Yaya and Joey and Oliver and Aubrey…and Carl and Nakoma and Mittens. I look forward to playing this game again!
