Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own eBook edition
A few years ago, back when gas was less than $2.00 per gallon, Henri and I seriously considered buying an RV or bus and taking the great American road trip.
We ultimately decided against it, but a part of me always wondered what it would have been like.
I don't need to wonder anymore thanks to Queen of the Road. Doreen and Tim have done it (for me and countless others). Not only have they done it, the did it better than I could have even imagined!
The story starts with leaving Boulder, Colorado and takes you through one year and 48 states; laughing all the way. Doreen chronicles the strange and wonderful characters they meet, the sights they see and the breakdowns, malfunctions and other misadventures of life on the road.
This is a wonderful travel book. Full of meticulous details about places like Savannah, Key West and Alaska. Her keen eye and descriptive powers make you feel like you are there.
To classify it merely as a travel book, however, would be a travesty. Yes, it takes place on the road. Yes, they travel and have adventures all over the country. But somehow the travel on the bus morphs into a journey of self discovery and re-evaluation of what is important in life. So maybe it is a self help book.
Alternatively, this is the story of a love and marriage. Doreen and Tim approach each other with respect, love and great humor. Their ability to negotiate their differences is impressive. I learned a thing or two about communication.
However you finally decide to classify this book is probably not important. What is important is that this is a vastly entertaining, laugh out loud funny, wise and surprisingly thoughtful book.
The perfect remedy for rising gas prices, summer heat and taking a "staycation" this year. I can't image anyone who would not enjoy it!
The publisher says:
A pampered Long Island princess hits the road in a converted bus with her wilderness-loving husband, travels the country for one year, and brings it all hilariously to life in this offbeat and romantic memoir.
Doreen and Tim are married psychiatrists with a twist: She’s a self-proclaimed Long Island princess, grouchy couch potato, and shoe addict. He's an affable, though driven, outdoorsman. When Tim suggests “chucking it all” to travel cross-country in a converted bus, Doreen asks, “Why can’t you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?” But she soon shocks them both, agreeing to set forth with their sixty-pound dog, two querulous cats—and no agenda—in a 340-square-foot bus.
Queen of the Road is Doreen’s offbeat and romantic tale about refusing to settle; about choosing the unconventional road with all the misadventures it brings (fire, flood, armed robbery, and finding themselves in a nudist RV park, to name just a few). The marvelous places they visit and delightful people they encounter have a life-changing effect on all the travelers, as Doreen grows to appreciate the simple life, Tim mellows, and even the pets pull together. Best of all, readers get to go along for the ride through forty-seven states in this often hilarious and always entertaining memoir, in which a boisterous marriage of polar opposites becomes stronger than ever.
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