Sibling Bonding in a global pandemic

The travel bug runs in our family, so an opportunity to turn a long drive into a sibling adventure was a no brainer.

Drink of Choice

Normally, my drink of choice is whatever is considered the local drink of that place. But as we were crossing state lines, we had an interesting pick. As people who like whiskey, don’t ask me why we chose a bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon to drink at each stop of the trip. But now this trip has been distinctly marked by the fuck it nature of that choice.

Hungover in the States

Wild Turkey is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced at Wild Turkey Distillery, in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky by the Campari Group .

The world is on fire, let’s drive about it

In the year 2020, the world was literally and figuratively on fire. I was living in California for the first part of the pandemic and it we were quite literally on fire. Like, San Francisco literally felt like night one day because the ash and smoke was so intense, the sun wasn’t coming. All that to say, I needed to be out, but clearly I couldn’t be outside where I was living. Around this time, my brother had decided to move to Salt Lake City and wanted a companion to turn a long drive into a sibling trip.

To a new home

My brother and I spent the majority of our childhood in Georgia. No matter where we live, Georgia will always be one of our homes. But we’re also pretty adept at gaining new homes along the way. So naturally, a trip going from one home to a new home had to be a monumental trip.

We started the trip at our grandparents’ home in Riverdale. Now looking back, this trip feels extra special because all of the videos from the beginning of the trip have our grandfather in there. He passed away earlier this year and seeing this reminder of how much of our lives he got to see will always warm my heart.

First stop - The world’s largest office chair

Fun fact, there is a lot of giant furniture and other random goods out there. I bet, you could easily incorporate at least one giant object in any road trip. For us, we decided to see the world’s largest office chair.

This is her in her full glory. It was raining pretty hard so she also provided great shelter as we checked how her enormity. Honestly, I can totally see people going to see this monument and being underwhelmed, but I think because it was my brother and I, we had the best time. If you would like to see this masterpiece, no need to look further than Anniston, Alabama. As we admired the chair, a cop drove up to us, which was scary as two brown kids in 2020 in Alabama, but he ended up being really kind and asking if we wanted a photo together. So the first picture there was taken by him.

A real Mississppi super hero

There were many stops we could have made in Mississippi, but we decided to see the birthplace of Ida B. Wells, a hero who is not talked about nearly enough. I think it was fitting that we were able to talk about all of the civil rights issues we still face on the way to see this site. I think 2020 was a wild time in general, but I think learning about our history and other people’s battle for rights, you learn a lot more about the time you’re in. I think it was just a very fitting site for this time in our lives.

I don’t know how to pose, so enjoy this awko taco picture of me.

The Firm - the most important Tom Cruise Movie

The most important stop for the day was Memphis, but not for the reason most people go. We participated in no Elvis related activities. Instead, we ran around the city re-enacting various parts of the movie, The Firm. What a classic, and if you disagree, I don’t really care. Because of Covid, we were unable to do a lot in the city, but because I was with my brother and fellow movie junkie, we were able to make the most of being that city. Like a giant Bass Pro Shop pyramid as a the background to your movie? Iconic.

Accidentally in Arkansas

After an exciting moment in Memphis, we made our to St. Louis. When we head over the bridge, we realized we had accidentally went to Arkansas before heading up to Missouri. Honestly we didn’t do much, but I will never forget the moment when my brother looked at me and said “Are we going to Arkansa?” and the laughter that ensued. It felt like a moment that pretty much summed up our relationship. Sometimes we both don’t know where we’re going, but we know we have each other, so how bad could it be?

We finally got to St. Louis late at night, but the before we headed to our AirBnB, we grabbed some Wild Turkey to toast with every night of the road trip. In case we hadn’t done enough, we got to the AirBnB and decided, it was a great time to watch a scary movie and drink some bourbon. We watched Hereditary and to this day, it may be one of my favourite horror movies. We were hella spooked, so we ended up sleeping with the lights on. Honestly, I think this may be one of my favourite memories with my brother. I know a lot of people have complicated relationships with siblings, and it’s not that our relationship doesn’t have nuances, but it made me thankful that at the core of it all, my brother is truly one of my best friends.

Location, Location, Location

The location was so ideal where we stayed in St. Louis. We stayed up hella late, but for some reason, I couldn’t sleep. So I decided to go on a 2 mile run. One of my favourite ways to explore a city, especially when I was solo traveling. Running has really helped me find cute little places to eat or have coffee along the way. This run took me to a small market and passed several places that could be good to grab a bite for lunch. But, we had a brunch plans first, so I headed back to the AirBnb to shower and to head over to meet up with one of my best friends from high school.

My bestie’s beaux

This was an exciting day because since before the pandemic, I had not seen this friend of mine. And most importantly, I had not seen the man she had been raving about for so long. I first met up with my high school bestie at the Gateway Arch National Park. It was so nice to see her after such a long time and I am so thankful my brother caught the reunion on camera. I like to watch it sometimes when I miss her.

We then made our way to brunch by Tower Park where we finally got to meet this mystery man. As soon as I saw them together, I knew it was meant to be. The only person who may have the travel bug more than me, is this friend of mine. And I am so thankful she found a person who matches that same energy. It was great meeting him and walking around the park and finding that connection again at a time when connection are hard to maintain.

Somehow still in Missouri

Our next stop was Kansas City. I know there is a side of Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas, but for the second day, we hung out in Missouri side. Because this was 2020, no matter where we went, there was not a whole lot open. But I think that allowed for my brother and I to connect more. We went spent the day mostly eating, having a drink, and walking around different sites in the city. Nothing brings people together like food and drinks and I am thankful for how much we got to learn about each other in KC.

Kansas was built to drive through

No shade to Kansas, but once you leave Kansas City, the purpose of that state is to drive through and honestly, I’m so thankful they know that. I know it sounds under rated, but we went to some of the nicest rest areas. Also, the roads were nice and smooth which made the driving day over to Denver, so much nicer.

We did want to make an actual stop in each state, so we did stop by Wilson Lake State Park. We brought out our inner adventurer and played explorer for the first time since we were 7. We pointed out all the fun plants and every cricket we saw. It reminded me of when we would go into the woods behind our house and pretend to discover the creek back there. And while I have to agree that a lot of Kansas is flat, we loved getting a chance to stretch our legs for a bit.

I see why they stopped at Denver

When we got to Denver, it was sunset, but as you drive up, you see the city and then you just see a wall of mountains behind. My husband once told me, “you can see why Denver was built there and why no one wanted to go past those mountains”. I completely understood what he meant when I saw that wall. We got to the AirBnb, but because it was so late, we grabbed to go food before getting there and just called it a night after watch another movie with our to go food and of course, some Wild Turkey Bourbon.

The next day, we started the day with a lovely brunch with a loaded Bloody Mary and very fancy mimosas. We then were loving the autumn colors as we walked around and were determined to go have some good autumnal fun. Living in CA, it had been years since we went in a corn maze and a friend who grew up in Colorado recommended we do a corn maze by the botanical garden. I don’t know what constitutes as a good corn maze, but we had a very fun time and it did provide us with a lovely challenge so I’m convinced it was a fantastic corn maze. I think a good theme of the last 2 days was the back to childhood after our explorer adventure in Kansas. I felt like a child in the best way going through that maze.

Since we were by the botanical gardens, we also decided to take advantage and walked around the gardens. Again, I’m not sure what people consider a good botanical garden but it was pretty so the gardens got an A+ in my book.

Another reunion

If I had to pick an alternative theme to sibling bonding, I think it would be reconnecting. I’m thankful I got to reconnect with my friend in St. Louis and now it was my brother’s turn to reconnect with his friend in Aspen. And honestly, to me, meeting those who are closest to those you love helps you connect with those loved ones even more. It’s like it gives you a glimpse into who they are. And I think that is what I loved the most about this portion of the trip. I got to hear about my brother’s university days which I wasn’t there with him for and I got to meet one of the people who made a huge impact on that time.

Getting to him in Aspen was breathtaking. Turns out, the route that we were going on was about to close the next week so we completely lucked out. You drive through a valley for a lot of it by the water so you just see the mountains of all colors and size rise up around you. I don’t think any description, video, or image could do it justice.

Once we were in Aspen and after finally meeting this friend, we made our way into town for dinner. I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the place we ate, but I really loved the cute down town area. There is just something about a town with string lights that has my heart.

I might be sad, but that makes me funny

The trip unfortunate came to an end the next day. After a great time chatting and catching up on my brother’s life with his people, we had to leave for our final destination. We drove over to Salt Lake City on, again, one of the most stunning roadways. Again, nothing will do that place justice. We made our way through the wildly varied landscapes of Utah on the way yo SLC.

I think, though, more than the dinner we had that evening or the views of the trip, or getting through that bottle of Wild Turkey at the end of the trip, what I will remember most of that last leg will be the conversation we had before I left behind my brother to go back to California. Without getting into a lot of private details, we have both struggled a lot with mental health and depression in particular and the pandemic didn’t help. In the car, we were talking about how much we needed this and the lessons we had learned for our separate journeys with mental health. We made a joke that depression made us funny and that we would be great stand-up comedians, but it made me think. The reason I could laugh about all the hard times and get through all of it was because of the support of people around me and in particular my brother. My non-existent standup career wouldn’t even be a joke if it wasn’t for him. No matter what the ups and downs, or what life throws at us, I know I will have him and I am thankful for this trip for being a reminder of that.

Avik, when you read this (because I will be forcing you to check my grammar), know I love you and that this whole trip will always remain in my heart and now, I guess, also on this blog.

Atlanta to Salt Lake City Road Trip