Hillbilly Holiday: The Trip I Didn’t Want to Take
In May, I received an invitation to attend a small family gathering in Northern Utah. Some of my nieces and nephews were going to spend a week together, and they invited their aunts and uncles to join in on the fun. I didn’t want to go, so I said no.
Now, just to be clear, it’s not that I didn’t want to see these kids and their families; I just didn’t want to make the trip. I always feel overbooked in the summer, and the calendar was full. I wasn’t going to juggle things to fit this into the schedule. A road trip across a desert in July? No way.
Then I got a follow-up call from one of the siblings, just making sure I knew about the gathering. I assured her that I did and appreciated the invitation, but I wasn’t going to make it. Really, I wasn’t. I always want to be invited, but I don’t always want to go. Thanks, but no thanks.
But something strange happened when I hung up the phone. I started thinking. (I know, odd, right?!) I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Surely Leroy wouldn’t want to go. Could I find someone to go with me? I decided to ask Sierra, knowing full well she’d say I was crazy and talk some sense into me. Instead, she said, “Sure, why not? The kids would love it.”
Wait. What?
When I told Leroy about it, he said he was in too, and we began to plan.
I was born in this region of the country, but we moved to California when I was three. I have no memories of my life there, but I do remember making the trip every summer—at least once, and usually by car—when I was a child. I know the route by heart, but it’s been thirteen years since we’ve driven it. In the meantime, we’ve only returned by air for funerals.
Also, Jameson and Charlotte had never been on a road trip of this length. Who knew how they were going to handle it? (Are you beginning to see why I said no in the first place?)
Once we committed, we were all in. I hyped it up to the kids, and they were thrilled. I made a countdown calendar for them and even pre-made some postcards calling our adventure the “Hillbilly Holiday.” I got caught up in the anticipation too. I began to feel there was a higher purpose for this trip—a calling, maybe—but I didn’t know for what or for whom. I just knew I needed to go.
We took two days to get there and two days to get home. We blamed the kids, but it was better for us too. We spent four days with family we had yet to meet, or hadn’t seen in years. I had a few qualifiers for the trip. Sierra has vivid memories of making this trip as a kid, so she had some requests too. Most of our must-see list included food:
- LaBeau’s — Drive-in restaurant in Garden City, Utah
- Angie’s — The best restaurant scone in Logan, Utah
- Gossner’s Cheese — The best curd EVER in Logan, Utah
- Swig — Locations throughout Utah (Secret Lives of Mormon Wives)
I am happy to say that we crossed them all off our list. (Swig was a great disappointment.) We even managed a stop on our way home at Beauty Lab & Laser in Murray, Utah, made famous on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Leroy even snuck away to golf with my niece’s husband. Everyone was happy.
We visited my parents’ graves in Logan, Utah, and Bloomington, Idaho, and introduced the kids to famous Bear Lake, where the water was not as cold as I remembered. We stayed in an Airbnb near the family, and the kids loved having a room “upstairs.” There was even a Roomba to keep Jameson entertained.
For all of our effort and manufactured enthusiasm before departure, God rewarded us in many ways. The kids were extremely well-behaved in the car and kept themselves entertained for hours on the road. We encountered no issues with our car, reservations, health, or itinerary. The Airbnb was a real treat for the kids, and the weather, although hot, cooperated.
But the best part was feeling the love and appreciation from all of my family. They were truly excited and grateful to see us, and we felt loved from the first joy-filled greetings until the sad goodbyes. Both kids were crying as we left the house for the last time.
I don’t know what God had in mind, but I know He blessed us all during that week. I was able to reconnect with nieces and nephews, visit my brother and sister-in-law, and see the only uncle I have left.
What I thought would be an inconvenient road trip turned out to be something much more. It was a reminder that sometimes the things we resist the most are the very things we need. We came home tired, full of cheese curds and road-snacks, but also full of love. And I’m so grateful I changed my mind.
