Notes from a Road Trip

We spent over 12 hours in the car yesterday as we drove from South Florida to Arden, NC, the first of three trips we will make this month, from South Florida to Arden, NC.  People who are keeping track of my travels will note that I've been going up and down I 95 A LOT in the past 3 months.  It's one of the advantages of being underemployed.

Yesterday was different because my spouse was in the car with me.  When I'm alone I listen to a lot of NPR, interspersed with lots of scanning of stations.  Some trips, I might listen to a bit of conservative talk radio or preaching.  Yesterday, we left the radio off.  In some ways, it was peaceful.

We had lots of rain, but happily, none of it lasted long.  Some of it was intense; at one point, I joked with my spouse, "When we picked out this car to deal with flooding, I didn't think it would be I-95 that flooded."

The highlight of yesterday’s trip was when we stopped for lunch. Usually we get something quick to eat in the car but yesterday we stopped at a restaurant, Fat Jack’s in Walterboro, SC. We knew nothing about the restaurant, so we lucked out. I was able to get vegetables, and my spouse was able to get fried chicken--we could have gotten just about anything because the menu was that big, plus there was a full bar.

 But what made it more interesting is that it had clearly once been a fast food restaurant that had been remodeled.  It was staffed by a variety of women of all ages. And the food tasted good too--wonderful collard greens.

We were tired from the road, so we didn't have a lot of conversation, but that's OK too. There was an older couple beside us who talked in the sort of shorthand that older couples develop. There was a family of nine on their way to a beach vacation, and it was great to hear their enthusiasm, while at the same time I was happy not to be trying to shepherd all those teenagers. 

We ate inside, in the air conditioning, and the tables were spaced out with high ceilings above, so I didn't worry too much about the spread of disease.   We ended the day getting snacks and sodas to enjoy in our hotel room. Our middle of the day lunch didn't leave us wanting much dinner, and that was fine.

And now it's off to the free breakfast that comes with the hotel.  I'll be sharing more details about these the reasons for these trips up and down I-95 in the coming months but for now, breakfast.