Shortcuts are sometimes too long.
I came as close as I have losing it on Friday all because of my own bone head decision to save some miles by taking a highway that angles from North Carolina to Dayton, Ohio instead of driving the interstate. The road turned out to be loaded with towns and stop lights..plus, in the few open spaces there were, the maximum speed limit was 55 miles an hour which I thought went out with Jimmy Carter. It was just agonizingly slow. West Virginia my be known for it’s coal mines and poverty but it’s some of the most beautiful country we’ve seen.
So, as I write this, we’re only in Richmond, Indiana with Sioux Falls still a distant point on the map.
I wrote in the comments of my last blog that the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte is really a neat place with interesting things to see and do even if you’re not a race fan. The whole exhibit is about speed..but getting your tickets for entrance into the hall, which just opened a few weeks ago, is anything but fast. Only one clerk behind the window while people stood waiting in the hot sun. The guy in front of me wanted 13 tickets but was informed that his credit card hadn’t cleared. So he fumbled around for cash as everybody sweating in line behind him was ready to pounce and kill.
I did drive one of the simulated race cars which was great fun and somehow managed to avoid a major crash while everyone around me was spinning out and slamming into the wall. I was pretty proud of my performance until I saw my lap speed was about a hundred miles an hour slower than the record.
We’re about to head for Chicagoland today and hope Big Red continues to run fine.
Oh, we ate last night at a place called “Pizza King”..same name as my favorite place in Brookings. It was fantastic! Saved some for a snack today as we motor toward home.
