On The Road 1 ~ Spain 2001

Posted in Adventures, family, people, photography, Road Trip, Spain, Travel, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

In lieu of any outings, with the weather being pants and Sophie away, I’m digging down into the archives for another episode of Fraggle Curated.

I’ve always loved driving, and had many cars in my life I especially love a good road trip and driving in other lands. Of course it’s not easy to take photos and drive simultaneously, and more than probably not the safest manoeuvre to pull off, but I have parked up and got out to take the odd road picture, and I especially like being a front seat passenger when I can do drive by shooting. It’s also good to have a passenger who I can direct what and where to shoot with my camera or iPhone. I have quite a few so there’ll be more than one episode of these!

In 2001, my friend Andy moved from Milton Keynes to Alhaurìn El Grande, in southern Spain. He hired a van, packed up all his gear and I went up to drive him down, through France and Spain, a 3000 mile round trip. I took Ben with me and we made some memories. Ben took nearly all the pictures here.

“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ben and Andy, Ford Transit, just got to France on an overnight Ferry.

“Roads are a record of those who have gone before.” ~ Rebecca Solnit

Travelling down through Spain

“Wherever you get to is better than where you started. To stay on the road is a massive achievement.” ~ Anthony Joshua

Sunrise over Alhaurìn El Grande, we’ve arrived!
The trusty Transit.

All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination. ~ Earl Nightingale

We delivered Andy to his Mum’s Villa, from where he was embarking upon his new life, and Ben and I had a day and overnight stop there before setting off back to Old Blighty the next morning.

Chilling at the Villa

“No matter who you are or where you are, instinct tells you to go home.” ~ Laura Marney

Rocky Mountain Road ~ Spain, the journey home.

“All he needed was a wheel in his hand and four on the road.” ~ Jack Kerouac

Me by Ben, family tradition- stick tongue out when being photographed 🙂

“Look at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.” ~ Byrd Baggett

Foresting work.

“The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.”  ~ Alain de Botton

Sundown

The sun went down as we reached the border between Spain and France, and I pulled off when we saw a motel to stay the night and rest up for the next day’s journey.

“When you go on a road trip, the trip itself becomes part of the story.” ~ Steve Rushin

Ben watching CSI dubbed in Spanish

Back in France

“If you’re not lost, you’re not much of an explorer.” ~ John Perry Barlow

Driving over one of the rivers that run through Bordeaux, where I got totally lost.

“In life, it’s not where you go – it’s who you travel with.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

Finally arrived at Calais, Ben checking the map before we get on the Ferry.
Duty Frees!!

That was the first really long road trip I ever did, but not the last. I know the photos are not all that, but Ben was only 12, the camera was a 1MP point and shoot, and I knew sweet fanny adams about photography. It doesn’t matter to me though, these are wonderful memories of me and my boy, and memories are why I got into photography in the first place.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” ~ Aaron Siskind

54 thoughts on “On The Road 1 ~ Spain 2001”

  8. I LOVED this, every photo, every quote, the journey itself. The photos quality and colour are the timeframe itself, I felt I was transported to 2001, sitting in the backseat and enjoying the ride. Thanks for taking me on this journey, I had a GREAT time!

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  13. Road trips are a favourite pastime for me…we like driving holidays, seeing what there is to see, how people’s lives differ and are the same as ours. (I think my favourite photo of the bunch is the one of you with your tongue to as you are driving! Thanks for sharing! 😄

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  14. We have done a lot of road trips here in the US – last summer over 6K miles and only half way across the country. They are the best! As far as Spain, we hope to visit friends next fall in Almenucar (sp?) and then perhaps visit Jolly Olde Englande and the British Isles before returning home. These days flying is such a pain that driving seems like the only way to travel. If I could drive to Europe or take a train, I would, and have considered slow boats, but get sooooo seasick! Was it hard to go from left side of the road driving to right side? I think it would make me nuts. Anyhow, great story and great pics – hard to believe time has gone by so quickly. Looking forward to more stories and photos!

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  15. What a wonderful story of you and your son on a memorable road trip! I loved every pic and the emotions evoked by the mother son adventure. I love the tradition of sticking out the tongue! You look rather adorable. Hugs, C

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