Welcome - Here's the Story of a Man and His Family and a Big Trip That They'll Take

Welcome friends and friends-to-be! This blog will chronicle my family's big car trip this summer--one that will take us from Baton Rouge to Boston, then to Orlando and back home with many stops to visit family and friends and see the sights along the way. We leave June 7 and should be back home getting ready for a new school year on August 9. I hope you'll check back often for updates.

To set the mood, here are lyrics from one of my favorite "big trip" songs - Bottomless Lake by John Prine. The song reminds me so much of some my family's ill-fated car trips when I was a kid. I hope our upcoming big trip works out better.

Here's the story of a man and his family
And a big trip that they took
Well, I heard all about in a restaurant
And I read it in a history book
They rented a car at the Erie Canal
But the car didn't have no brake
Said Ma to Pa "My God this car
Is gonna fall into the Bottomless Lake"

Well, Mama turned to Daddy with a pale face
Said "I've done something horribly wrong
Well, the waters still runnin' in the bathtub
And I think I left the kitchen light on"
Then I heard a crash the car went splash
And the compass rolled around and around
Oh, for Heaven's Sake! We fell in a lake
And I think we're all gonna drown

Chorus:
We are falling down
Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
I'm so scared I can hardly breathe
I may never see my sweatheart again

There was plenty of food in the backseat
And the windows were rolled up tight
So we all nibbled on a chicken leg
Told stories 'way thru' the night
Well, Pa told one that he told before
And the baby got a bellyache
Said Ma to Pa "My God this car is
Falling down a Bottomless Lake"

Repeat Chorus

Poppa played the music on the radio
Mama rocked the baby to sleep
He said he would've taken the other road
But he didn't think the lake was that deep
Well, if the ferry been there at the end of the pier
We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's
Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake
'Stead of looking at fish out the window I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake

So if you're ever goin' on a big trip
Ya better be careful out there
Start everything on you good foot
And wear clean underwear
Take along a Bible in the backseat
Read of David and Solomon
For if you make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again