Memorial Day: Between Remembrance and Road Trips
May 21, 2025
For some, Memorial Day is a long weekend that signals the unofficial start of summer—weekenders start plotting escape routes, car coolers get packed like a game of Tetris, and somehow the sunscreen’s already half gone before you even hit the road.
For others—it’s personal.
It’s not about battles won or lost. It’s about people. Names. Faces. Laughter. Jokes only they could tell—now memories we revisit, smiling through the ache. Plans that never got their “someday.”
More Than a Long Weekend
Memorial Day isn’t for all veterans—it’s for the ones who never made it back. For those whose stories ended too soon, but whose impact still echoes in the lives of those who served with them, laughed with them, or simply knew they were out there standing watch.
So wherever you find yourself this weekend—on the road with loved ones or in quiet reflection—may you carry both the joy and reverence of the day with you. That’s where the magic lives: in the duality of celebration and gratitude. So how do you really honor this weekend?
Visiting With Purpose
Consider making time to visit a memorial—not just pass by, but truly pause. Read the names etched in stone. Choose one, and learn something about their life.
Because these were people. Real people. Roommates who always “borrowed” socks. Teammates who somehow passed land nav on the first try. Leaders who showed up every damn time. The daughter who crushed the ruck march. The quiet one who carried more than we knew.
Whether it’s a towering monument, a park plaque, or a small stone tucked into a courthouse lawn, every place of remembrance holds meaning. Their courage shaped the path we walk today.
So stand still for a moment. Say a name out loud. Google it. Learn where they were from, what they believed in, what they might be doing today if they’d had the chance.
Freedom and Frito Pies Can Coexist
Go ahead—light the grill. Float the river. Miss that one rogue spot with sunscreen. Hug your kids and laugh too loud. We’re not here to stop you—we’re here to remind you why you get to.
Because this isn’t just a travel weekend. It’s a moment we get because others made sacrifices. Real ones.
Names like Jacob Fritz. James Gurbisz. Tim Moshier. Scott Shimp. Zach Miller. Laura Walker. David Bernstein. Each one a life cut short. Each one a smile I knew, a voice I still hear, a memory etched into who I am. And while these are the names I carry, there are thousands more—each remembered just as deeply by someone else.
So as you road trip to somewhere weird and wonderful, or camp under a sky full of stars—carry a name with you. Carry the weight of that freedom with gratitude.
And when you vote, when you speak up, when you choose listening over shouting or action over apathy—do it like someone’s watching who gave up their future so you could live yours. Because they are.
Travel with Intention
Here at Madden, we believe travel connects communities, fosters empathy, and honors the stories that came before us. It’s why we do what we do—because every journey matters.
This Memorial Day, let’s pause—with gratitude and awe—for those who came before us. Their courage wasn’t the end of something. It was an invitation. A responsibility.
Let’s answer that call by how we show up: for each other, for the places we care about, and for the ideals that bind us. May we carry their legacy forward with fierce integrity and purpose.
Because freedom isn’t passive—it’s precious. And the way we live it out is one of the most powerful ways to say thank you.
