Anybody else do them as kid? After church and Sunday dinner (Pot Roast and Potatoes, always Pot Roast and Potatoes) Mom and us kids would all pile into the car and go for a ride, typically with no set destination, although usually the last stop before returning home was for ice cream. Peter Pan made the BESTchocolate ice cream, though Braum’s comes pretty close.

My dad would load us up and take us to some long-abandoned distant relative's old farm house or similar, and we'd do some exploring. Usually with a hike to get there.

Modified version:

By the time we attended church and Sunday School (or Bible Study for the Adults) it was Noon.

Conveniently enough, Michigan allowed Sunday beer sales starting at noon. So I'd ride "home" with my older brother (over 21, living at home temporarily after getting out of the Air Force), he'd pick up a cold sixer and we'd consume the evidence on the way home.

Take us as much as an hour to drive the 2.5 miles from church to house...

early 60's
when mom needed a brake,
dad would grab his best buddy and we'd head out to lake mcbride and the coralville reservoir,

I might get an ice creme cone at the purple cow cafe.

it was all gravel roads back then ,

Peachy would bring 8 or 9 pabst blue ribbons along , even at 5 y.o. , I didn't "get" the flinging of the tin empties in to the ditch's


I'd find stones to skip or sticks to throw in the lake.

if had been raining in the spring time , we would go get some mushrooms.

if we were going fishing soon we would stop at the Klima farm (where we purchased fresh eggs)
and check the Catalpa trees for caterpillars.

we would go every other weekend

Dad used to take us to the Furr’s cafeteria for lunch after church, then we’d go to Gibsons, or sometimes the ”Woolsworth” as Dad used to call it. Where we’d look at the stuff we couldn’t buy because of the stupid “blue law” in Texas at that time.

There wasn’t much in the way of scenic drives in the Midland-Odessa region.

I assume that part of the reason why I like to drive so much is because my mother used to take my Dad and I on Sunday drives.

Yep...it was pretty much a regular thing when I was a kid...from Austell to Dallas GA to spend a few hours with family or just a two or three hour drive around Atlanta (a MUCH different place in the 1960s especially on Sundays...traffic?...what traffic!)...to my recollection it was almost an adventure ...

My wife loved to go for drives...

After we moved to TN in 1986, my wife and I would very often load up the kids on Sunday (when I wasn't working) and head out for a Sunday drive to one of the State Parks like Fall Creek Falls. Our girls would more than likely be asleep when we got back home

Late 60’s. We all load up in the Comet, drive so far out into the Mississippi countryside there Is nothing but peanut farms as far as you can see. We stop beside a lake, mom spreads out a picnic of tomato sandwiches, potato salad, slaw and a huge watermelon. After eating that delicious lunch, we proceed to catch a stringer full of shell crackers. On the ride home, we kids argue about who gets to lay in the back window. No seat belts, no antibiotic hand wash and we survived.

Oh sure, we used to pile into the '63 Chevrolet Biscayne s/w and do the Sunday ride. That ride, each & every Sunday, would usually conclude with a trip past THE Home for Wayward Boys, and my father (cop) would always give me the: If you don't straighten out, that's where YOU will end up'. Coming from him, I never doubted it.
Big, gothic beast of a building (think horror movies) - scared me on Sunday, but by Tuesday...well you know.

quote:

Originally posted by Minnow:
Late 60’s. We all load up in the Comet, drive so far out into the Mississippi countryside there Is nothing but peanut farms as far as you can see. We stop beside a lake, mom spreads out a picnic of tomato sandwiches, potato salad, slaw and a huge watermelon. After eating that delicious lunch, we proceed to catch a stringer full of shell crackers. On the ride home, we kids argue about who gets to lay in the back window. No seat belts, no antibiotic hand wash and we survived.

Not to mention NO fire ants!! LOL

I take my dogs for a drive on Sundays most of the time.

My mother grew up in a small town in Texas. My father in an even smaller town in Indiana. So they were not enamored of country drives in the heat of Texas. Sometimes church and then Sunday afternoon football and air conditioning were the order of the day. Dad would grill steaks for dinner, his epitome of fine dining, and then it was time for 60 Minutes, Disney, and Wild Kingdom. After showering and bedtime I would read a book under the covers with a flashlight.

Minnow's post brings back another memory...the 1963 Mercury Comet 4 door...white with a red interior ...that was my mom's car until she traded it in the 1967 Chevrolet Impala 2 door fastback...blue with a blue interior (snazzy!) ...

Back in those days everything was closed on Sunday except a truck stop located on Highway 78 between Austell and Dallas GA...we always stopped there for a hamburger and fries...they also had ice cream sandwiches and Nutty Buddies in freezer at the checkout

Where have those days gone

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Dad used to take us to the Furr’s cafeteria for lunch after church, then we’d go to Gibsons, or sometimes the ”Woolsworth” as Dad used to call it. Where we’d look at the stuff we couldn’t buy because of the stupid “blue law” in Texas at that time.

There wasn’t much in the way of scenic drives in the Midland-Odessa region.

Every time we went to visit my grandparents church, they would treat us to Furrs after the service. I haven’t seen one of those since I was a kid.

Yep. Usually included stopping at a country store that sold in-store sliced bologna and cheese for either sandwiches or crackers.

I lived near a fair-sized extended family, so just pleasure jaunts into the country side were not the typical Sunday activity after church. For one thing, my dad usually had to work on Sunday, so my mom and I would go to church with one of her sister's family. Later, when dad came home, we'd gather at one of the family homes where the kids played board games and the parents played Pinochle or Canasta.

Once in a great while we'd all go to one of the local parks for a picnic.

flashguy

Almost every Sunday after church, either to the beach or lake.

Starting at age 6, every Sunday after church my dad would take me on a drive from northern VA. We'd go to West Virginia past Harpers Ferry and hit the Turkey shoot at a distant volunteer fire department. I had my H&R 20 gauge and he had his 870 pump. Usually we'd drive home with some nice prizes and listen to the Redskins game on AM radio (AM 630). Was definitely great memories and father son bonding. We probably stopped going around the time when I started high school.

Sunday drives are a tradition elsewhere as well. One of my favorite Saw Doctors songs is about Sunday driving in west Ireland.



Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeov8_PqSUQ

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Dallas GA

My first wife and I had a house between Dallas and Hiram off 61.