Freddy is my co-pilot

When Fred and I graduated from college we got in our Toyota and took a 6 week drive around the US.  It was an epic journey.  We essentially stopped in every state except for Kansas, Hawaii and Alaska.  We stayed at Motel 6’s along the way plotting out how far we would might drive each day and making a reservation in advance.  Sometimes we would stay with friends.  Remember this was pre-Internet so we made a reservation with the hotel we were leaving for the next one coming up.  Also, no mobile phones.   Did I mention that I would hide underneath the seat so we would only have to pay for a single vs a double?

We had a notebook that we kept how much we spent each day by subtracting from the total and documenting what it was we bought.  I think we did the whole trip on $1500 in total.  We were basically eating cheese, bread, cereal and wine.

At this point we had been together a few years so I was well aware of Fred’s driving skills.  He has many assets and that is not one of them.  I believe we had already been in two accidents with him behind the wheel at this point.  So before we began our journey, either it was given to us as a gift or I had it made, we had a bumper sticker on our car that said FREDDY IS MY CO-PILOT.

Fast forward, there are GPS systems and Google Maps.  Sometimes you have to have common sense and get your nose out of the map but on this trip I am the driver.  Fred has yet to get behind the wheel.  We also have a really great GPS system.  As I have written, you have to be focused when you drive in the back roads of Europe.

Last night for dinner we went to a place call Le 9.  Very much peasant food which was a nice change of pace (veal dish above) It is at the top of Forcalquier where we were earlier in the day.  You can not bring the cars through the small hill town yet Google maps suggested we should.  We got caught up at the end of a street and turning around on stick is not easy.  Then we figured our way up to the restaurant in the back of the town.  After dinner we made our way back to the hotel and had to park in a new location.  We started to drive into an area that was a grassy road where people would stroll and overlook the outdoor reflecting pool.  We both flipped.  It was comical and stressful at the same time.

All I could think of the entire time was….oh yeah, Freddy is my co-pilot.  Great job!  We went down to the bar at the hotel, sat outside under this magnificent tree and just laughed.