Road tRip

It’s an undervalued pleasure these days

It was at about the 3,000-mile point of our 4,100-mile driving journey that our 17-year-old son saw the beat-up little sign: “Hopalong Cassidy Museum” with an arrow pointing straight ahead.

He started laughing, thinking it was another one of the museum oddities we had been keeping track of throughout our trip across 19 states in the Midwest and East, along with the District of Columbia.

We had already chuckled about signs along the road promoting the “Action Figure Museum” and the “National Motorcycle Museum,” among plenty of others. So when I turned the wheel toward Hopalong’s museum, he looked disgusted.

“We’re not actually going to see this, are we?”

“C’mon,” I said. “Hopalong was a real TV cowboy. Let’s do it.”

We were already off the road to refuel the car, and it was a rare day on the two-week trip that we weren’t on deadline to be somewhere.

So we drove around the tiny Ohio town, eventually finding the combination museum and antique shop in a building with tightly and sloppily boarded windows.

That’s the kind of trip we were on, just the two of us, a father-son get-away: part college sleuthing, part baseball watching and part meandering aimlessly.

Being the two least-talkative members of our family, there was plenty of time on the trip to let our minds wander, something difficult to do during hurry-up-and-wait airplane travel. Waiting in line, shuffling through security, waiting in line, jamming aboard the plane, then waiting in line again is tiring, and you don’t really see anything from point to point, unless you count floating high above the clouds as “scenic.”

A driving trip, though, has its own cadence. You control the pace — interstate or backwater roads and you control the stops. You can visit as many or as few McDonald’s as you want. You can compare notes on the stages of public bathroom cleanliness, going all the way from generally disgusting to downright appalling.

And as for scenic: On an endless stretch of highway, you can watch the sky kiss the land up ahead as fluffy clouds float by almost at eye level, something impossible to ponder in a city jammed tight with buildings and lights and smog.

On the monotonous road, cracks in the high- way thundering rhythmically beneath the car, the mind wanders to all sorts of interesting places, many of which have nothing to do with the trip at hand.

As for Hopalong and his museum, despite my son’s complaints, we parked and walked toward the door, my son visibly slowing behind me as we approached the Promised Land. Then he smiled when he saw the sign on the door: “Closed until next week.” And he jostled me about missing that opportunity for hours and hours and hours.

That’s the ultimate beauty of a driving trip. Gas is still expensive. Driving still takes more time and effort than many other ways to get from here to there.

But there’s something to be said for taking a little extra time to get both somewhere and nowhere simultaneously these days.

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14320 Hughes Lane

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5871 Elderwood Drive

Congenial blend of ‘50s charm and sophisticated updating, wood flooring, open spaces, treed lot. Offered at $395,000 Mark Millikan/469-867-9196

6318 Bandera Ave #C 2nd floor flat that overlooks pool, renovation completed, stainless, granite & Bamboo flooring. Offered at $239,900 Pete Livingston/214-505-5005

3978 Davila Drive

Immaculately maintained, Midway Hollow 3/3 w/2 living areas, guest quarters w/ full bath. Offered at $225,000 Joe Nemmers/214-675-6610

3216 Townsend

Handyman special on large interior lot. Offered at $134,500 Lou Nettle/214-912-4556

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3050 Latham Drive

Lush landscape, hardwood floors, vintage tile, picture windows & sun room. Offered at $129,500 Kara Bolding/214-906-4314

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Daily blog

Read this:

“Amid the colorful, psychedelic design originally created by W.T. White students in the 1970s to combat graffiti, there’s a new kind of message — the dangers of texting while driving as told by Spongebob Squarepants.”

Search “Spongebob” to find out how he ended up on the Forest lane mural and to read neighbors’ comments.

Plant Shade

Trees Now!

“Trees: Plant Now”

Staff Favorites include Mexican Plum, Maple ‘Red Sunset’ and Chinese Pistache.

Sept. 24th 10am

Plant Fall & Winter Gardens Now!

Cool season favorites include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, salad greens, carrots, beans, Brussels sprouts & more. Garlic arrives in October!

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Sept. 17th 11am

Tulip, daffodils, crocus, hyacinth, iris and other spring blooming bulbs arrive mid-September! New to planting bulbs? Our experts will help you plan & plant a gorgeous garden.

Collars for a cause

Americans spend $41 billion a year on their pets. That staggering statistic came as a shock to Preston Hollow residents Jaycie Underwood and Katie Mayer, two blond 20-somethings who had been living in the so-called Dallas bubble until they began working with starving orphans in Kenya. “You walk into a community where all you see is devastation, and every person you meet there beams with joy,” Underwood says. “There’s no way to walk away and not have your heart left there.”

To help redirect some of those copious dollars spent on fancy cuisine and frou-frou clothes for animals, Underwood and Mayer launched Popular Paws. They hand-make “designer” dog collars from ribbon and sell them for $20 to $30 each to benefit the Kenyan orphanage, Naomi’s Village. “It’s sounds silly, but we’re in Dallas,” Underwood says. “This is something that would sell.” And, it did sell — so much that it went from a temporary fundraiser to an ongoing business. Green Pet in Oak Cliff carries the collars, and the girls are looking to partner with other shops in Preston Hollow. Underwood and Mayer both attend The Village Church where their passion for mission work began. They were connected to Naomi’s Village through a couple at the church who had started the orphanage. “I had always thought that my options were limited,” Mayer says. “Traveling isn’t an option. The Lord placed a desire in my heart that my options are not limited.” Through Popular Paws, Underwood and Mayer try to encourage others to give back in any way they can. “You can play a big part in the world in a small way,” Mayer says. “$20 or $30 is two meals in Dallas but could feed a child for week.” —EmiLy

Toman

to order CoLLArS from popular paws, stop by Green pet, 315 N. bishop or visit popularpaws.blogspot.com.

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for neighborhood nonprofits

Go to a folk concert ... and help those less fortunate. every friday night, Uncle calvin’s coffeehouse hosts acclaimed folk musicians who travel from all over to play at the intimate nonprofit venue housed inside northpark Presbyterian church, 9555 n. central. admission is $12-$25 depending on the artist, and all proceeds go to organizations that help the hungry in Dallas, including the Stew Pot and north Dallas Shared Ministries. to see this month’s music calendar and purchase tickets, visit unclecalvins.org or call 214.363.0044.

Get UP anD Give

to the neighborhood charity of your choice. Donorbridgetx.org launches its third annual Get Up and Give! north texas Giving Day 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 15 with $500,000 in matching funds and prizes. Several local nonprofits are participating in the event, including arc of Dallas, the cooper institute, Dallas international School and the Jewish community center, just to name a few. log on to cftexas.org and search for any nonprofit by name, address or zip code.

KnoW of Ways that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@ advocatemag.com.