A NEW KIND OF FAMILY ROAD TRIP
My dad was probably the one to bring up the idea of a family road trip down the Pacific Coast. It was winter a few years back, and I needed to get my Jeep, named Jenny, down to sunny Orange County from the gloomy Washington coast. I was desperate to get the hell out of those damp, dark woods and on to my next adventure; my Jeep would be parked at my mom’s place in California while my partner and I worked and skied in Japan for the winter season.
My mom would not be joining us. She’d visited me countless times while I had held seasonal jobs across the west and Midwest, but she draws the line at cross-country travel. And anyway, her coming on the trip hadn’t ever become part of the discussion, as she and my dad had recently gotten a divorce. A road trip involving the two kids (me and my brother) and our parents wouldn’t be a possibility for a long time yet—if ever.
When we told my brother about the trip, he eagerly agreed to join us—he’s
