Millions of miles and memories.

 

“Carefree highway

Let me slip away on you

Carefree highway

You've seen better days

The morning after blues

From my head down to my shoes

Carefree highway

Let me slip away, slip away on you.”

There are more than 4 million miles of highway throughout the U.S., I only know this from the internet, I have not travelled them all. 

Given the option, I will often times drive to a location rather than fly; of course if it’s for business or another matter where I have to be there quickly, I will do whatever it takes to get there in the least amount of time.

Besides not feeling the pressure to be at the airport to catch a flight, driving gives you the option to take your time, make a stop, or leave when you’re ready. But that’s not necessarily the only reason I like to drive. Once on the road you can pull off and go explore, and when you have your camera or iPhone, you can capture memories along the way. I should know, I have done this many times and have gotten lost doing it. This was before GPS.

One of my favorite memories was when I was in Oklahoma a year or two ago. If you have been to Oklahoma, you know it’s not New York, LA, or even Miami….it’s Oklahoma City, Tulsa and miles and miles of unique scenery. I did ask before I went in search of some of the sights I wanted to see, and I am glad I did. Because I got lost looking for them.

One was a gas station that had a gigantic soda bottle in front of it; once you stepped out to see it, you could see hundreds of bottles in the window of the store, with a rainbow of colors and flavors. It was really cool, but the best part was at night and it was illuminated —-you could see it from miles. Too bad Coke or Pepsi didn’t come up with this idea, actually I am glad they didn’t.

Whereas the bottle was a genuine surprise, what got me the most was an area called, Mount Scott. Living in Illinois, anything that obstructs the view to the other side would be considered a hill or mountain…even if it is only a slight. I drove up to the top of Mount Scott (it took about 15 minutes) and when I got up there, I was blown away. The overlook was breathtaking and the photo opportunities made it all that much better—-I think my camera was gasping when I was done. It recovered. This was in Oklahoma.

The photo above was taken from a Southwest flight traveling back home from Colorado. The cabin was dark enough to be able to take a picture, and when I saw the long and winding road below, I knew being on the airplane that day was the best way of dreaming about getting back on the road again.

Thanks for stopping by.