Monthly Archives: February 2009

Road Tripping the Light Fantastic

Posted by lorie on 2/15/2009 1 comments

I've just returned from what (at least on the return trip) felt like the longest road trip of my life, but in actuality, it was one of the shorter ones. I grew up in a road-tripping family. My mom would regularly pack us kids in the car and make the 12-hour drive to Iowa to visit our grandparents several times a year. Back then there were no portable DVD players or iPods to pass the time, and I suffered from motion sickness if I tried to read in the car, so we passed the time by talking and singing songs.

Songs by Steve Winwood, Suzy Bogguss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Hal Ketchum are the ones I remember most as we drove those long highway miles. To this day, when I hear any of them I get a rush of nostalgia that's sometimes overwhelming. Our current culture of instant gratification means that not many kids get to share my experience of watching America go by through a car window. Instead, they're watching Yo Gabba Gabba and oblivious to their surroundings.

Our longest road trip ever was when we moved from Colorado to Virginia in 1992. My dad and Ginny rode together in a big yellow Penske moving truck, while Mom and I held down the Dodge Caravan along with Sammi (age 5), Jamie (age 2), Reagan the dog, Kitty and Fat Boy the cats, and Pretty Boy the cockatiel. It was a very long trip. The best part was probably when we got separated from Dad and Ginny while navigating through St. Louis. I remember Mom crying hysterically at a rest stop, and the roadies from classic country group Alabama helped us track down the yellow Penske truck. And all was well that ended well.

If you pay me enough, I’ll sing these songs at a karaoke bar

Posted by lorie on 2/2/2009 4 comments

You really don’t have to pay me anything to get me on a karaoke stage these days. After my post-Christmas trip to Baltimore with my soon-to-be boyfriend, I popped the karaoke cherry big-time and have never looked back. (Several dozen Coronas and a few cherry bombs helped with that initial outing.) These days, Seth and I spend most Saturday nights at a tiny dive bar called Local Pub, flipping through the karaoke book like old pros. It’s become one of our favorite things to do and we spend a slightly embarrassing amount of time looking for just the right hits. I tend to go for 70s and 80s singalong hits, and he brings the house down with his rap and alternative. We’re a good team that way.

Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes

I already have! It’s quickly becoming my go-to karaoke performance on our weekly excursions. Yeah, I’m kind of channeling Gwyneth Paltrow in Duets when I do it, but that’s cool. I somehow feel like a karaoke badass when I bust this one out.

Papa Don’t Preach by Madonna

If not for the fact that Local Pub did not actually have karaoke this weekend, I would have busted it out. I’m looking for a few lower songs to try and this seemed like it might be a winner.

Since U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson

This was my starter song in Baltimore because I knew it well enough to sing it in my sleep. It’s fun for others to sing along with as well. Our current karaoke guy doesn’t have this in his lineup quite yet, which is a shame because I’d like to get a little more practice in on it.