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Barbara at Projectkin's avatar

Oh my… I’ve got a story to tell about a famous, though now closed Bolivian drive from La Paz in the Andes to Cochabamba in the Amazon forest… thankfully I was too busy calming my irate mom to be afraid. I continue to be wary of Florida.

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David Shaw's avatar

Road trips are the de rigueur American tale. From the 1824 LaFayette tour to Jack Kerouac, to the Moon landing, the one constant feature of the American psyche is to hit the road.

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Lisa Maguire's avatar

Family history interlaced with a fascinating history of American motoring! I did not know about the Monteagle Grade, or the hair-raising experience of driving to Florida back then. Great yarn and great social history.

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Jane Chapman's avatar

My son certainly has that adventure gene. It's a mother's nightmare! He got it from his Dad who was certainly adventurous in the past. It comes from a long line of early settlers to New Zealand who must have been adventurous to suffer a long voyage half way around the world into the unknown.

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David Shaw's avatar

Scots-Irish no doubt and further back, Neanderthal. 😂

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David Shaw's avatar

I presume you've seen the 1993 movie, "The Piano." Do you think it did the period justice?

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Jane Chapman's avatar

That is a movie I should have seen given it's connection to NZ but I confess I haven't.

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David Shaw's avatar

It is considered “period romance” but stands well as a brutally honest portrayal of the times. It is a movie you absolutely must see once, but twice would be too much.

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Cynthia Boatright Raleigh's avatar

It boggles my mind that people made this trip with the auto limitations of the time. I realize they didn't know any different, but wow. I don't remember the route we took, but I have a vivid memory of a Smoky Mountain family vacation to Chattanooga with a Camp Craft camper in tow by an AMC Gucci X Sportabout, my dad driving and my mom leaving forever hand imprints in green, orange, and white upholstery of the passenger area.

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David Shaw's avatar

😂Yes, but Ralph and Boynton thought it was fun to chase Mexican bandits in the desert on horseback.

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