Warning! Nostalgia induced rant ahead.My family took a lot of road trips during my childhood. I can’t remember a time when we ever flew. We drove to Disneyland. We drove to South Padre Island. We even drove our light blue 1982 Chevy Caravan to Florida—not for any Disney or Universal Studios related thing, just for a trip to the beach which amounted to more waiting out a tropical storm than wading out into the ocean. To keep us entertained during our hours of road journeying, my parents bought each of us (that’s me and my two sisters) a Gameboy. Well, it started with one, then as the fighting continued and the annoyance factor grew my parents gave in. I was addicted to Wario Blast—a great game featuring Wario, Bomberman and blowing stuff up. The time pasted oh so quickly and quietly with the little boxes o’ fun.The best road trip, which was more common and much shorter, was down south to see the birds at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. I used to beg my parents to take us there … both for the excuse to play Wario Blast and the chance to see a whooping crane. We would make the three hour drive to the Bosque, drive around ooh-ing and ahh-ing and then drive back. Once, we saw three bald eagles—I don’t remember if we ever saw a whooping crane. We did see a number of plain, grey cranes that I always tried to convince my parents were the rare bird we were seeking.Ah, the memories. This nostalgic journey was brought to you by the Friends of the Bosque, who are opening the Christina Ann Lannan Educational Annex today at 1 p.m. The annex will add 3,000 square feet to the visitor center for students and bird lovers to enjoy. Go check it out sometime this summer. The kids will love it (as long as you make them turn off the Gameboys when you get there).
The Gameboy And The Birds
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