Escapees March-April 2023

“Properly planned playlists can make your days on the road zip by.”

EVANNE SCHMARDER #65409 is sure she got the wanderlust bug fromher grandpar ents. In 2000, she and her husband, Ray, set o ff on their own adventure in search of a sunny place to settle down. Eighteen-plus years later, they’re still roaming the country, sharing interesting destinations and cooking up delicious RV kitchen recipes in their popular RV TV series, RVCookingShow.com. No matter how you choose to enjoy music on your drives, it can be a great way to enhance the journey and create lasting memories. Listening to these songs, even years after the trip, can instantly bring you back to those good times. So, don’t forget to plan ahead and pack your favor ite tunes. Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts), enjoy the ride! Your Personal Playlist Properly planned playlists can make your days on the road zip by. You’ll want songs that’ll make you sing out loud and those that’ll slow your roll. Get into the local spirit by choosing at least some that re fl ect the area you’ll be driving through. Think about how the songs fl ow. Too many fast selections might wear you out while too many ballads may not keep the inspiration cranking. Create a variety of playlists to suit different moods, driving conditions, and durations. If you’re traveling with a group, get everyone involved in choosing their favorite tunes. It’s always a good idea to download your music for of fl ine listening. This is especially true if your data plan is limited or you’ll be traveling in places that may have spotty Internet service. If you have an extensive music library on your computer or subscribe to streaming services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, or YouTube Music, down load the songs you’d like to have on your device before hitting the road and arrange them into playlists. If Spotify is more to your liking, subscrib ers can curate playlists, search for current playlists, or ask Spotify to put something together based on listening history. You can download the playlists and rock on when you’re ready. Listen Up

On the Road Again WILLIE NELSON

Who among us isn’t (always) thrilled to be on the road again? I’ll bet every single SKP reading this relates to one of Willie Nelson’s signature songs, the Grammy-winning On the Road Again. The song was written for the fi lm Honeysuckle Rose, his fi rst leading movie role, depicting an aging musician, his career, and his relationships. It came about during a fl ight when one of the fi lm’s producers and its director approached Nelson asking if he could pen a tune, something about being on the road. For lack of a notebook or other piece of proper paper, Nelson scribbled the lyrics on the back of a sick sack. He didn’t write the melody until the day before he was to record it. An easy feat for such a gifted songwriter and a gift to road-trippers everywhere. Equally Entertaining There are dozens of other songs, some road-related, some not, to get your motor running. We can enjoy road-inspired titles, such as Highway Star /Deep Purple (yes you are!), Thunder Road /Bruce Springsteen (we’ve all made a run for it, right?), Take Me Home, Country Road /John Denver (such imagery), and Where the Streets Have No Name /U2 (ugh, been there). Then there are songs that merrily move us forward: Summer of ’69 /Bryan Adams, Footloose /Kenny Loggins, and Happy / Pharell Williams. You can go Walking on Sunshine /Katrina & the Waves or Dancing in the Moonlight /Toploader. But whatever you do, Don’t Stop Me Now /Queen. The Camping Trip by Ray Stevens and George Strait’s All My Ex’s Live in Texas , are just good fun. One that’ll thrill your kidlets, RV Road Trip Boogie by Blippi.

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ESCAPEES Magazine March/April 2023