Dear friends,
As you all know, I am on my way driving from Florida to LA. I'm sure the trip would be a lot more enjoyable with any of you as my companion, but alas, I'm traveling alone. At any rate, a few of you asked if I would document the trip as I had done for my travels in Vietnam. I really had no intention of doing this. It seemed to me that this route is traveled by thousands of others every day, and as such, my report would probably be a repetitive retelling of a very mundane exercise. However, as I traveled, I found myself writing down notes of things I found odd or funny. I guess a few of you might find my observations interesting. Therefore.....here is the blog, at least for today.
The Prep:
Last night I packed most on my stuff in the car before realized I forgot to change the air filter as I had planned. At 7:30pm I popped the hood and replaced the filter. (I had to undo the battery lead for access to one of the filter retaining screws) In the morning I loaded the last bits, (computer etc) said my farewells to the bird, and set off in the gray rain. I was 15 minutes ahead of schedule! Five minutes into the trip I switched on the radio and got the LCD display “enter code”. Yep I forgot when you disconnect the battery you have to enter the security code before the audio system will work. Guess who left the manual and code at home? Well, there was no way I was traveling 3000 miles without radio and tunes. I turned around and headed back to the house. Fortunately, I found the manual, entered the code and was rolling again—only ten minutes behind schedule.
I took the turnpike from Hollywood and headed north. It was amazingly dark from the rain and cloud cover making the morning light quite eerie. Even with this atmosphere, it was not a bad start. Well, as happens me trips like this, you find that you are alone with your thoughts, and the external visuals speeding by often begin to suggest things to your brain—or mine anyway. Pretty soon I'm in some fantasy based on that tree I saw with the cow grazing under it. Yep, that me, and I had decaf.
At about Orlando the weather turned. It was just beautiful. This is why we live in Florida. Right about here is where I fired up the tunes. (thanks to Katie for the new stuff) I set the 600+ songs to shuffle and was reminded how music affects us. Recently there was great NPR story about music, our brains, emotions and memories, blah blah blah. Too much to get into now, and I can't remember who did it. But today I believe his thesis.
At some point beyond Gainesville I noticed this is where the Florida foliage begins to change. It is here that the lime green of Florida begins to get a little more of the northern blue green. And it is here I noticed the stands of tall straight pines with tufts of branches only at the top. At 75 mph, these look like giant marching fuzzy green lollipops. Marching lollipops, my mind is wondering again. Time to stop. Good thing I need gas.
Beyond the prettiness of the land, there is also the annoyance of the ubiquitous signage. As I went through one town I was floored by the grotesque comedy afforded by billboard juxtapositions. Within a short distance there were Anti-abortion, Vasectomy, Sexual Harassment/Rape Counseling, and Strip Club billboards. No matter the order in which these are arranged, it all seems sickly funny. Add to that that the stripper clubs offered “trucker discounts”. Do you have to really prove you are a trucker? I'm sure offering up a license to a stripper is a safe bet. But hey, two lap dances for the price of one may be worth the risk?
There were some other images that seemed odd to me. However, these might just be my own prejudices in action. There was the Cowboy driving a sporty Toyota coupe. C'mon, shouldn't all cowboys be driving trucks, if not on a horse? Then there was the guy in the new tiny KIA with “Star & Bars” and right wing stickers on the bumpers, and “Stop Obama” painted on the rear windshield and rear door glass in those used car lot paints. Seriously, some guy in a shiny KIA bobbing along the highway isn't how I picture the Beck/Palin “real Americans.”
Then of course there are the multitudes of churches in every municipality. However the most spectacular was the church with an A6 fighter jet on display. Jesus is rocking some serious weaponry. Then again, in wasn't 30 miles later I passed the exit to Bagdad Florida. Who'd a thunk it.
One of my favorite sightings of the day was the pickup truck with the nose cone/cockpit of a small jet on the back. At first I thought he was transporting the thing. Then I realized, he had cut off the bottom part and attached the top to the bed as a topper. Ingenuity, necessity or both? Definitely a rolling comedy.
On another more serious note, the constabulary was out in force all along the way today. I was amazed at the amount of law enforcement vehicles that were on the road. Just outside Orlando two cops we parked on the side of the road with their guns drawn. They were pointing them at a lake. I assume it was a gator misbehaving. Over the trip I saw six people pulled over along my route. There was strange uniformity to the stops too. All the stop-ees were “brothers”, so to speak. I know my observations are not empirical research, but a lot pasty people were speeding past me all day. Admittedly, one of the guys made some stupid dangerous moves right next to me that caused him to get pinched, but based on my observations, I couldn't help thinking there was another element in play here.
Well thats all for today. Well, except for a note that tonight I had the worst Chinese food I ever had. Well, it ties with the Chinese I had in England.
4 more days to go but with a lot more miles. I'll try to jot down note on the sights, but I might just have to sleep rather than use the time to blog. Sorry about the lack of pictures but it's hard to snap at 75mph.
Thanks to all for their continuing support.
N
