Stuff I saw on my road trip

Last updated on: October 13, 2007 at 8:06 am by Michelle Van Loon

Stuff I saw on my road trip 2007-10-13T08:06:00-05:00 Michelle Van Loon

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There’s nothing like a road trip, is there? Last week, I drove from west of Ft. Lauderdale back home to Round Lake. I did the drive in two days – 11 hours the first day, 15 the second. This is not recommended unless you have a titanium behind. Which, apparently, I do.

Here are some (wildly) random observations about this trip:

(1) OTR truckers – how do they do it?

(2) The last palm tree I saw as I headed north from Ft. Lauderdale was near Jacksonville, FL. I watched for it. It was my way of saying goodbye to FL.

(3) Interstate 75 in Georgia is lined with fascinating reading material. I have never seen so many colorful semi-professional billboards in my entire life. Discount Bibles, pecan rolls (three for a buck!), carpet, attractions! Wow!

(4) There are radio stations that play all Gospel Quartet music, all the time. Hmmm.

(5) Tennesee took my breath away. (And it wasn’t just because there were fewer billboards!) I want to go back. I want to go back and get off the interstate and hike through those gorgeous mountains. If you’ve ever been there and have some recommendations as to where to stay and places to go there, let me hear from y’all.

(6) My friend Jeanna lent me her Garmin GPS system for the trip. The Garmin’s disembodied woman’s voice took on a personality of her own as I drove.

“Veer left in 300 yards,” she’d say coolly.

“But I need to use the bathroom,” I’d reply as I veered right onto an exit ramp. “Recalculating….recalculating…recalculating!”she’d say, sounding angrier and angrier with my disobedience to her commands.

“You’re not the boss of me,” I’d say. But I wasn’t so sure this was true.

What made the experience even sweeter was catching an episode of The Office in the hotel after the first day of driving that featured Michael driving his LeBaron into water while using one of these GPS systems. I could see how this could happen. Rogue technology.

(7) I stopped outside of Nashville for some Chik-Fil-A (When In Rome…). I looked around the crowded restaurant, and had the feeling if I yelled, “Everyone who is a Christian here, raise their hand”, that 90% of the people in the restaurant would, in fact, raise their hands.

(8) Northern Indiana is flat. This is not a complaint.

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