Fiction; In a Flash

The wife and I never really had a honeymoon. We got married on Friday night and I was back to work on Monday morning. We did spend Friday night at a local Motel 6; we had to ask them to turn the light off for us- it was shining right into our room. Can you believe they wouldn't do it?

We were always planning to get away, but there was always work, and then the kids, Always one thing or another; this or that stopped us from going.

And then, well, for our 30th wedding anniversary  the kids gave us a trip, And a camera. They didn't really give us a trip, like they had planned an itinerary, but they got together a few bucks and arranged two weeks off of work for me and the missus, rented us a car, packed our bags and pushed us out the door. Told us what we did between now a fortnight hence was our business.

But bring back pictures.

So we started down the road. And it came to us why we had never taken a honeymoon. Neither of us liked to travel.

We drove few hours and decided to stop for the night. we found a little inn a bit off the beaten track; the kind you don't see much of anymore.  Motel in the back, restaurant and gas station out by the road.

We spent two weeks there; passing the time waving to traffic from the porch of the restaurant and shooting the breeze with who ever passed by. We ate every meal in that restaurant; breakfast was the best, and lunch a close second, almost tied neck and neck with dinner.

About lunch on the second day we got to worrying about pictures. We had it made; good room, great meals, pleasant company, but the spot wasn't the most photogenic I ever saw. One or two shots maybe, but not the whole passel the kids would be expecting.

The cook was taking a smoke break on the porch with us one day, and I mentioned our problem. He grinned a bit, and then called out the busboy. Seems the busboy knew how to fix up pictures, and load them on the camera. That afternoon he put a sign by the cash register asking for a few pictures from each customer. He rigged up a small computer under the counter and downloaded  - I think he called it- all kinds of pictures.

Then he took a picture of me, and then one of the missus and then one of both of us. A few days later he showed me what was on the camera. There were pictures from all over the country. According to the camera, we had been, and had our pictures taken at, Mt. Rushmore, Key West and the Grand Canyon- just for starters. Disney World, Disneyland, San Francisco (we rode the cable cars), Yellowstone Park, the Soo Locks and Niagara Falls.

We also saw all of the sites in Washington DC and New York City. We had even managed to make it to Maine for the fall colors. In June.

By the end of the two weeks that camera was so full of pictures we would need a month of Sundays to look at them all. That Sunday afternoon we paid our tab, left a big tip for the staff and loaded up the car. An hour or so later we were in our own driveway, unpacking.

The kids showed up about the time we were done, and we showed them the camera full of pictures. The only one any of them looked at was the one I just showed you all. We took that from the porch of the restaurant first morning we was there.

The missus and I look through the pictures every so often and remember our 'trip'. One of the grandsons have them put onto a movie disc that we can watch on the TV.

Of course, the only one we recognize is the one we took from the porch.