June 4, 2021 – Friday (somewhere in the South)
Greetings … from North Carolina. I am at my new best friend’s place … Holiday Inn Express … in the tiny town of Apex, NC. Think country meets new build meets tourist town all within a square mile. Just about. At least the traffic is doable!
I just got back from Chili’s … I know – I’m out of town and I should be sampling the local fare. But, I’m tired and crabby and know what I can handle food wise and I had a hankering for a yummy $5 margarita. That place never disappoints. And, no C’s on the island, so a treat for me! I am a fan of the “chains”, people; I can’t help myself!
When you’re traveling alone and can’t find anything on the radio to keep yourself company – there’s just so much Bible talk, or southern local radio or country a girl can listen to – and the mind starts to wander. I think that’s the case for everyone – but for me, my mind doesn’t just wander – it’s off to the races! Before I go two miles it is 400 miles ahead of me!
It was another perfectly beautiful day for a (long) drive … blue skies, white puffy clouds, 86-88 degrees and plenty of sunshine. I had the windows down and the a/c up. And while I had plenty of miles to contemplate things … here’s a few things that came to mind or I observed along the way …
Raccoons … there must be a huge abundance of those critters in these parts. Dead ones, mostly. So much road kill along the highways these past few days … raccoons, opossums, one deer and many indistinguishable, messy lumps. I’d fly by each one and say an “Oh, baby.” or a “RIP, sweetie.” and by the time I was done whispering my lauds, I’d have seen two more and do the same over again. I wanted to pull over and wrap their puffed little bodies up in a soft, little, pink blanket and give them a proper critter send off. I realized today I’d be needing a lot of little, pink blankets.
There were a LOT of shredded tires all over the roads, too. Dead tires. As sad as dead tires are … I wouldn’t need pink blankets for them.
Yesterday I left the Atlanta area … if you haven’t been in that area for a while or ever, I’d say stay away! Ha. SO much traffic. The speed limits were 70 mph in most places and I was going 80 and they passed me as if I were standing still. Today I was in Chapel Hill and the speed limit (for all streets/including the small highways) was 35. I can’t even idle the rental at 35 mph. I figured I can’t move there – I’d be getting speeding tickets on a daily basis! (I also realized today that my Google maps gives the speed limit on your screen where you are … fabulous cuz so often NOTHING is posted!)
Use GPS … and watch your speed. Yesterday’s GPS kept sending me to a cemetery telling me I’d arrived at my destination. I didn’t care for that. NOT funny. She was freaking me out. That’s when I decided to go my own way – but didn’t know the speed limit … so, I thought I’d follow the 1972 Camaro with the amp’d up muffler package that was loud enough to scare cats – three counties away. Probably not my best idea. That’s also when the cop, behind me, turned on his lights and pulled me over! DAMMIT! Not knowing where to go since we were at an intersection – he proceeded to give me directions on where to go over his LOUD SPEAKER. Um, yeah. I’m THAT person! So, he approached the car and I gave him my license and he asked me how my day was and I said, “NOT GREAT.” He laughed and said that he’d make it better cuz he realized – after flashing his lights about my EXPIRED TAGS – that it was a rental … but he had already committed to pulling me over so he had to follow through! Ha ha. He didn’t give me a ticket but he did give me directions to the highway. Thank you officer.
Billboards. What is with those? You forget – when you live where I do, or where anyone does where there are none – what an eyesore they are! They are so obnoxious – especially the ones that have flashing lights! They are everywhere throughout the south here. Obviously, they work cuz by the time I opened my hotel room door last night all I really wanted to do was eat a Chick Fil-A sandwich, buy some fireworks (preferrably at Big Billy’s) and buy some Geico auto insurance!
Bring an extra pair of sunglasses and a head band. There was not much traffic on certain two-lane roads … just me, the a/c on, sun on my shoulder and the wind in my hair. It sounds lovely … and it was … but it would have been lovelier if the wind hadn’t been whipping my “at that length” hair into my eyes. Annoying! My sunglasses are amber … and too yellow for cloudy days but it was too bright to do without them. I needed an extra pair. No hair toy or extra glasses, harrumph! Do as I say, not as I do!
Clouds and sky … while driving yesterday and today from Atlanta to Morganton and then down to Apex … I had a lot of time to watch the clouds and sky. I thought maybe the far west gray clouds would bring a storm but I out-drove those clouds or they veered course. Far ahead on the horizon the sky was a pale blue and the clouds looked like little tiny popcorn puffs suspended above the roadway … above me, it was cerulean with fat, puffy clouds with flat bottoms. They reminded me of a painting … the artist’s name came right to mind while I was driving. Right now, it escapes me. But, they were beautiful … all wispy like cotton candy. I looked up at one big cloud and it looked like an elephant’s profile – trunk up in the air, his little triangle mouth open – as if laughing. I looked back up a bit later and his trunk was gone. Today, oddly, I saw another elephant in the clouds! I must have elephants on the brain!
Yesterday the gray flat-bellied clouds doused the landscape in front of me … I came upon wet pavement but no rain. The windows down, the fresh air poured in … bringing with it the smell of silage (fermented grass) and memories of our trips cross country from Denver to Chicago many moons ago. Each summer I’d drive the kids to my folks’ place and we’d sniff the entire 1000 miles. All those good road trip smells … the best being in Iowa … cows and grass and crops. Yum. Yesterday’s silage smell made me think of Tim. Almost 15 years. How can that be?
Yesterday’s forests smelled moist and earthy – as if I were driving through a terrarium after it was watered. Today the forest air that wafted into the car was pungent … more mushroomy and of decay. Interesting how things change – including the aromatics of locations.
Wear your glasses. Somewhere along the way yesterday, I now can’t recall which town I was in – but it was later in the afternoon and I was getting tired of sitting and driving and was having trouble with seeing the street signs. Even with GPS, I like to make sure I’m turning where I should be especially when on small roads. My eyesight isn’t the greatest after my surgeries and while I can see well enough to drive – I can’t really see signs. And, dear god, all the names of the streets were three words long … Singing Bird Lane, Daffodil Shoot Road, Little Pond Parkway … and then they started adding on directionals … Dogwood Creek Parkway NW! OMG … can you imagine how tiny that lettering was?! I was so thankful for my GPS … even if she sent me to a cemetery!
Yesterday’s travels were down forested lanes and oh-so-beautiful gentlemen-farmer’s acreage with stunning homes. I found where I’d like to live – if only I had an extra $3-$4 million! The lanes wound through the hills and trees and it was so peaceful. Ponds dotted the landscapes … lush foliage and an occasional horse were in the yards and pastures … and everywhere there was the fragrance of gardenias! They are in bloom and omg … so very fabulous!
Last night and tonight I heard the frogs … no cicadas or crickets yet but the frog song was so nice and sweet. There’s a plethora of insects down this way. My car grill and windshield both need a GOOD cleaning! Tonight on my way in to the hotel I took a photo of a large (4″) black, fat-bodied centipede (of sorts) with his articulated body and orange feet. I stood and watched him flowing easily over the pavement. He was amazing.
As were the vultures I saw yesterday! A lot of road kill means a lot of scavengers. Mom Nature feeding her babies. As I drove past the black fences I noticed a few “things” on the side of the road and slowed down to catch a glimpse … five or six vultures were hunched over, munching on some road kill. I turned around and went back to try to get a photo of them at their lunch. I was unsuccessful … but they were so BIG and so cool to watch. Gruesomely awesome!
Today’s trek was another long one. I arrived in Morganton last night in the cloak of darkness and even in the dark I could tell it was yet another crap mountain town. And in the daylight it didn’t look much better. I was holding out for this place. Darn it anyway! I’d like to see what it looks like in another 15 years. It has potential and some beautiful structures and a LOT of construction/renovation going on … and seemingly a good community that has a vision and money. But I don’t have 15 years of patience.
I flew along highways and back roads and drove at 75 and was at a standstill at 0. The standstills made me long for the 28 mph that I sometimes am forced to drive when I am behind someone on the island highway. The lush greenery of yesterday’s green corridor driving gave way to open stretches of very Colorado-esque dry and rocky landscapes today. Not a fan. It looks dry here. I prefer the green. GA was a lot more lush.
Today’s drive was through a whole mess of small crap towns. It made me think that the US is primarily made up of these small towns. A few pretty, tidy houses here and there – porches with bright red petunias spilling from hanging baskets, and well trimmed lawns -were the exceptions. For the most part, it was abject poverty. Crappy houses with crappy yards – many mostly dirt. It made me feel ugly.
The red clay is everywhere … not just GA. It was more prevalent in western NC than here – or maybe I just noticed it more there. It’s not the loose, loamy, black-gold dirt of the midwest (which was so phenomenal to garden in. You could put your hand shovel in the ground and your arm would go down 12″ without a problem or rock or pebble!) or the odd, hydrophobic soil in my garden beds in Langley … but an orangey-red. Hot. Dark. Menacing. If soil can look angry or aggressive, this looked like both. If I lived here I’d never be able to wear white again.
Watch the skies. Not just for clouds and rain but for flying objects … including birds. I had one hit my windshield yesterday – startling for us both! I assume he/she did not survive as it hit and bounced over my roof. I didn’t look back. Poor baby.
If you’re going on a road trip remember to take more water than you think you’ll drink. Hydration is key. And take some ice, too. It’s amazing how fast a 32 oz. cup of ice melts! Plan something fun along the way. Take healthy snacks. Stop for a treat. Tepid Starbucks coffee tastes dreadful on Day 4 – after sitting in the car and being watered down and days old. I beg of you – don’t do it! And, don’t forget the sunscreen – if for nothing else than your driving arm – mine now looks like a Thanksgiving turkey leg fresh from the oven.
Tomorrow I’ll be Scarlett O’Hara again as tomorrow is another day and I’ll get up and do this all once more. Searching … searching!
Happy trails!