Growing up in Indiana, Thanksgiving was the holiday that always brought my sisters and me together with my cousins for hours upon hours of good times and goofball fun. We made up games and created delightful distractions that would hold our grumbling stomachs at bay while the feast to come inched ever closer.

Then the dinner bell rang and we kids were sequestered in the kitchen where we were not seen, but definitely heard.

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Jeff Hoyt
Vashon Island, WA
11.20.06

Several of the songs in this podcast can be found through the iTunes Music Store:

“One Prairie Outpost” by Carbon Leaf
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” by Paul Brooks
“Thanksgiving Day” by Ray Davies
“Down” by Harry Nilsson
“Thanksgiving” by Loudon Wainwright III
“Superball” by Aimee Mann
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” by the International TV Orchestra
Plus movie soundtrack music from Carter Burwell and Caleb Sampson

Can there be a more iconic symbol of the American summer than the sight of a station wagon rolling down the highway packed to the roof with kids and “stuff?” Oh, sure, high gas prices may take their toll on the scale and scope of this summer’s typical American family road trip. Maybe the cross-country trek to Yellowstone will get sacrificed in favor of a long weekend at a nearby lake.

For the Hoyt family, though, perhaps the biggest obstacle to getting out there on the road is the simple fact that our kids are getting older. Campfires, truck stops and cheesy roadside attractions just don’t hold the same magic that they once did. Still, we keep trying to find new ways to travel together by paying attention to the lessons we learn along the way.

Here are three short stories of family road trips through the years, featuring music that should help you feel that hot sun beating down on your arm as you hang it out the driver’s side window on a long, winding ribbon of open highway.

Jeff Hoyt
Vashon Island, WA
7.17.06

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Songs heard in this podcast, most of which can be found in iTunes:

“Summertime” by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
“Fuzzy Freaky” by David Byrne
“In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry
“Astronaut” by David Byrne
“Hardest Geometry Problem in the World” by Mark Mothersbaugh
“Changeless” by Carbon Leaf

Natalie, expressing herself through fashion

Just a few months after the U.S. invaded Iraq, our family left for a long-planned dream vacation in Egypt. Many of the people who care about us expressed their fears for our safety, but any anxiety that I might have felt quickly dissipated soon after our arrival, as the words “welcome to Egypt” tumbled from the mouths of everyone we met.

As we enjoyed a spectacular and fear-free family adventure, along came one shaky, scary moment in Luxor.

My special guest for this podcast is adventure bicyclist Willie Weir. He’s pedaled his bike through parts of the world that are perceived by many to be pretty unsafe, yet he comes home from each trip with wonderful stories of hospitality, warmth and generosity of spirit. He’ll tell us a tale about his trek through South Africa, affording me the perfect opportunity to showcase the music of the country’s beloved “white Zulu” Johnny Clegg. Neither of his featured songs is available in iTunes yet, but much of the rest of Johnny’s music can be found there.

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Jeff Hoyt
Vashon Island, WA
1.10.06

Most of these songs can be downloaded in iTunes:

“No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)” by the Eurythmics
“Drum Art” by CapeTown
“My African Dream” by Johnny Clegg and Savuka
“Shimmers in the Sand” by Hossam Ramzy
“The Crossing (Osiyeza)” by Johnny Clegg and Savuka

Camel lies down - Hoyt kids hang on