Reflections on a road trip

One of the neat things about taking a long road trip is the many interesting sights to be seen. I remember making the trip between Connecticut and Alabama to visit my grandparents as a child. The trip didn't seem quite as long to a child as it does to an adult. One of my memories is the advertisements to "See Ruby Falls". These advertisements used to be painted on barns and signs standing in fields where cows grazed. Most of the signs of yesterday have been replaced by actual roadside billboards today, along with advertisements for motels, gas stations and restaurants. However, there are still many interesting and entertaining sights to be seen along the trip. Here's a list of some of the things we observed or learned on our summer vacation.

1. a Dodge Viper is OMG FAST (according to it's license plate)
2. a Corvette is SOKWIK (according to it's license plate)
3. don't plant trumpet vine someplace unless you REALLY want it to grow there permanently (from Sonya's personal experience)
4. there are camel races in Virginia, in September (from an advertisement on a U-Haul trailer). If you doubt this, put "camel races" into your search engine and see what comes up!
5. salt kills thistle (thanks again Sonya)
6. the short bus pulls dragons (a small bus pulling 4 large plastic dragons from a ride at a carnival)
7. you will find the cheapest gas prices at the exit following your last fill-up.
8. it is impossible to travel thru the state of Pennsylvania without encountering road construction.
9. when traveling to Pottstown on 61, it is best to take the 222/422 bypass and avoid Reading altogether.
10. rest stops in Virginia have a hand dryer that really works. (Only ones I've ever used that are actually able to completely dry the hands because they are very forceful).
11. HERBVR (from a license plate) seems to indicate that there is at least one vegetarian in Alabama.
12. food being placed in a zip type plastic bag must be no warmer than room temperature, otherwise the side seams can be unsealed. Thankfully there was not a lot of liquid in the food. We were able to salvage the situation without too much of a mess.
13. the waves at Misquamicut still fill your bathing suit with sand.
14. seagulls are still opportunistic scavengers and you need to be ever vigilant to prevent them from stealing your food.