When's the last time you took a road trip? We were passing a pecan grove on the home bound part of our annual fall trip and there out the car window was the most serene grove of trees. There it was... row upon row of tall sturdy trees with full branches and a lush green carpet of grass beneath them. It brought to mind a time when people were more genteel and life was simple.
I felt a little sad at the thought of my friend's children and the many others who've probably never seen nor ever will this and other sites that I've been passing as I took my road trip. What about the small towns with strange or unusual names? Or the off the road pecan store (We're Nuts!) in Vienna, Ga that sells everything from Coffee coated pecans to Georgia Pecan Butter and fresh pecan pies.
There's nothing like riding up a mountain and looking out at valleys dotted with white frame homes... puffy gray rain clouds hovering overhead. Or taking in a college football game in the fall where the main attraction of the town is the campus and its activities.
We're all familiar with airports and security lines; carry-on's and airport terminal food. We KNOW Atlanta and Houston; NYC, Seattle and Miami.
But what about all of the historic, quaint, odd, unusual, wacky, off the beaten path kinds of places and people that we miss when we grab our boarding passes and go?
As has been said before, small towns are part of the fabric of our country...the people you meet on the road play a large role in helping the people in large cities maintain their life, they are a part of who decides who gets elected every four years, and let's face it, they probably decide who wins "American Idol" .
I know with time constraints being what they are, air travel is the way to go, but if you're ever at a point in your life when you have the time... take a road trip to points beyond. Pack up the kids, your GPS and your sense of wonder and hit the road!
What about you out there? Any unusual, fun, wacky things you've seen on your road trips?
* Pecan Grove courtesy of by j.e.n.n.y. (Flickr)
