Back to the U. P., eh?

Every summer we pile into the car and head back to my hometown of Marquette, Mich. Last week was no different except I said I am going to try to pay attention to the little things about our trip so when I get back I can write a cool, hip column about summer travel.

Here is your cool. hip column:

Summer travel has changed so much from when I was a kid.

Kids today are so spoiled!

IPods, personal DVD players, videogames, air conditioning, cell phones, etc., have made traveling so easy for youth today that they will not even grow up hating the annual family trek. Do not get me wrong, those same devices have made it easy on us parents as well, because the kids do not even talk. I could not tell you the last time I heard, “Are we there yet?” 43 times on a trip. Speaking of phrases said on the family trip, I do not believe I have ever uttered the famous “dad” phrase, “Do not make me turn this car around, because I will,” or the equally popular, “Do not make me come back there.”

I remember when I was young we had 2-60 air conditioning. That is, two windows down going 60 miles an hour, and we had that middle hump seat that protruded out of the back seat in our 1967 Ford Country Squire station wagon. Also sitting with the way-back-seat-back-window view was not very comfortable either. (Was that even legal?)

I also remember that the radio station channels — all three of them — news, news and country music were not that great to listen to, when they did come in.

You may be asking yourself what we did for fun on our trips.Well, we had three choices: We played travel car bingo on magnetic bingo cards (you know the game where you had to find a cow, a stop sign, etc. to make a bingo), we fought with our siblings about anything, or we played slug bug (the game where if you saw a Volkswagen bug you punched your brother or sister in the arm, setting off a fight for the ages.) This game could also be played with out-of-state plate, as seeing an out-of-state plate you could then punch your sibling as well. All three of these options pale in comparison to a DVD movie or videogames.

Back to the trip.

This trip was quite an eye opener as gas prices sure did play a big part. Filling up in Albert Lea was the least of my problems as the price when I left was $3.87. During the trip, I encountered the outrageous price of $4.42 in Wakefield, Mich. In my hometown the prices hit $4.11 before coming down a bit. I was happy returning to Albert Lea as since I have been home, gas is going down day by day.

A great part of this year’s trip was seeing my best buddies and their families. It is so hard to get together these days, and with all of us in different parts of the Midwest, it is getting impossible to get all four or five of us together with our families at the same time. As a matter of fact, this was the first time in nine years that I got to see Tim, Tom, Dan and Jeff and all of there spouses and siblings. It was great. We all had a barbecue at Tim’s house and caught up on old times. It is not the same just e-mailing and calling each other as to see each other. The interaction with them is great. I do not know how some people are with friends, but with mine, it is not like a day has passed since childhood as we bond in seconds and you see the love and commitment sprout up in an instant. The bond that I have with my best friends is something that I cherish very much.

It was interesting talking with my friends about kids and comparing our childhood with our own kids. One thing that really struck all of us is how much more free we seemed to have it. It was nothing to play whiffle ball, hockey, kick the can, basketball, etc. until you were called home at about 10 at night because of darkness. Today, we all said we need to know where are kids are 24/7.

Was it safer back then or are we all more protective?

The other item that came up was how in the fall we used to have shotguns in our trucks at school because we all went hunting at my cabin after classes got out. Could you imagine how that would cause a stir today and rightfully so?

Our natural resources science teacher Mr. Coombs used to skin deer and show us how to clean guns right in class. I do not think that would go over today very well, but we just considered it normal. It really is weird when you stop and think about it.

When we were talking we spoke about how good we had it, and that was before electronic gadgets and cell phones.

It was very calming to see this group of friends who used to take on the world now watching over their kids as they try to take on the world.

Another great part of the trip is seeing Marquette again. It is about the best city in the world in the summer. It has it all: boating, swimming, Lake Superior, shopping, great restaurants, everything! The reason it is only a town of about 38,000 is winter. July, August, and September are really the best months, and the medium temperature while we were in town was about 74 degrees. Winter brings a whole bunch of snow, and it is cold. I was happy to hear that Marquette was also getting some good news on the economic front as the mines in Negaunee and Ishpeming were hiring some 500-plus employees as about $11 billion was being put into the mines through the year 2018. The mines in the Upper Peninsula are the same as in northern Minnesota and when you hear that kind of employment news, you feel pretty lucky.

The final part of the trip that is good is to see family. Both Bonnie and I got to see both of our families and get caught up on all the news and also got to see the new babies that my nieces had. My wife loves newborn babies, and I have to say that they are very cute! It was cool going down memory lane with your friends and then seeing new babies as it really puts life into perspective.

I realize after a trip like this that I am damn old and am getting older.

Time, stop, please!

Youth, come back, quit running!

Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s column appears every Thursday.