On the Road Oddities
Getting off the Interstate!
My On the Road Traveling Buddy and I recently drove up the interstate to the St. Louis area for one of his family reunions--and, yes, folks, there are maniacs on the BigRoad!
On the way back to Southeast Missouri, the ORTB yanked that steering wheel to the east, and we escaped to the old road--Highway 61. The added time it takes to adopt this slower lifestyle is made up for by the increased pleasure of seeing the Oddities of the Road!
We ate a most enjoyable lunch at the old Sainte Genevieve Hotel, and we saw things we could never have seen, if we had stayed on the Interstate 55 Rat Race!
Of course, I'm not knocking the convenience and speed of the interstates that wend their way across our nation. They are a distinct improvement in moving large masses of harried travelers from north to south and back again. But for those of us old retired folk, who like to take our time and enjoy the scenery, you can't beat the old roads.
We'll be cruising along. getting 53.4 mpg in my friend's new Ford Focus, when we see something unique--a 30-foot steel kitchen fork, a giant lobster statue, the ruins of an old honkytonk where Elvis used to play--or a bright pink stretch limo.
"Hey, do ya want a picture of that?" says my ever-inquisitive traveling buddy.
We turn around, commit a very minor act of trespassing, and I climb all over the site, taking pictures. Usually, the owners of the outlandish item come out to see what we're doing, and then we get the "full tour." ("Hey, come on in and I'll show you what else we've got!")
But this was Sunday, and the place was so quiet, we could hear the crickets, complaining about the 100-degree heat. The limo just sat there in the dust, radiating waves of reflected sunshine.
I love these trips! I never had time for this lollygagging around the countryside, when I was teaching, and by the time I was retired, I was alone--and everybody knows that it's no fun to travel by yourself. Or. at least, that's how I feel.
We drive where we want, stop when we want, follow a side road whenever we please... It's a good life!
From the hot, dry hills of North Stoddard County, this is your old English-teacher-pretending-to-be-a-journalist, Madeline, signing off on a 106 degree summer day!
Comments
- -- Posted by kkcaver47 on Sat, Jun 30, 2012, at 5:17 PM
- -- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jun 30, 2012, at 8:15 PM
- -- Posted by Dexterite1 on Sun, Jul 1, 2012, at 6:21 AM
- -- Posted by swift on Mon, Jul 2, 2012, at 4:47 PM
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