"WENNA WE GONNA GET THERE?"

Going on roads trips was fun most of the time.  What made it so much fun was the activity (giggles, songs, jokes, and the occasional disagreement) and the midway stop  - an opportunity to stretch our legs and also enjoy something wonderfully delicious from one of the road side food places.

Recalling some of those adventures ---- going fishing on Sunday afternoons in Foxboro or Deep sea fishing in Plum Island --- the north shore of Boston where fishermen caught the really big ones (tunas, sharks, swordfish more than 3 feet long)  and hung them for photo ops, but most of all, measuring purposes --- those adventures were a lot of fun for me as long as I didn't have to  put the bait on the hook or take the fish "I caught" off of the hook.   I never did like dealing with those slimy worms or slippery fish,

On the way home, we would always stop to enjoy freshly fried clams, or run into the donut shop that made blueberry donuts every hour, or the ice-cream shop where they churned daily their specialty:  blueberry ice-cream (using real cream and blueberries picked from the blueberry patch nearby).

But for those longer trips, without exception, five minutes into our journey to New York or other far off places that required  suitcases, after we loaded the car and began down Lowell Ave to Commonwealth to take the shortcut to Route 9  (the fastest road to these places at that time), the question was and continued to be asked (as we stood up in the back seat to get a better view), "WENNA WE GONNA GET THERE?".

And finally, since we're on the topic of car trips, I must comment on those weekly Sunday trips to Church:   We thought nothing of the number of people in the back seat of that mid-size car.  The trip was short, and it was fun (even though there were now 6  little kids in the back seat (my brother, sister, and I along with 3 of our cousins), our Grandma and also her sister, Aunty Mary.   We were all cozily nestled in --- some of us seated, some standing.  Cooler weather made this cramped 15 minute ride a good thing, but during those hot, humid  summer days, if you happened to be sharing your square inch of space with someone who constantly figited. . . that was tough, and that was when (once again) a little voice sung out loud and clear,  "WENNA WE GONNA GET THERE?"

Editorial note: This was before airconditionning was introduced, and seatbelt were required.