Recently I returned from a trip to help move my daughter to Florida. She graduated from college and, as I found out on our trip, always wanted to move to Florida. I guess she loves hurricanes.
It was a very unremarkable drive so we had plenty of time for observing. This is a summary of the trip, by state:
- New York – the start of our journey and the end of my daughter’s time in her home state. She’s trading in the “Land of Laws” for the “Land of Sunshine”. On New York’s thruway there is a sign every ten feet reminding of you some driving law we have.
Get your wallet out because we are one of the few states with tolls. It is a strange feeling, having to pay to get out of New York. - Pennsylvania – This was an uneventful part of our drive. Not much to see except trees. In fact, it was so boring that my daughter decided she needed to start driving just to stay awake.
One thing I will say in Pennsylvania’s favor is, it separates us New Yorkers from… - West Virginia – We stopped for lunch in this “great” state. Their fast food joints are all located near stills. Their motto is “Mountaineers are always free” but it should be “One Truck, One Gun Rack”. I’m guessing the state song is the theme from “Dukes of Hazzard”.
Stick a toothpick in your mouth, put on your best t-shirt, cut the sleeves at the shoulders and drive on, Cooter. Eeeeeeee-YOU!!!! - Virginia – We hardly knew ye. One hour and we were through.
- North Carolina – One of NC’s nicknames is “The Old North State”. Nice try. I’m guessing you gave yourself this name after you were on the losing side in the Civil War. Don’t try to sneak onto the winning team!
And you can tell that stock car racing is big here because everyone practices it on the open road. If we weren’t in a red vehicle with NYS license plates I would have given them a go…maybe. - South Carolina – Stayed overnight. Gas was $3.23/gallon, about 50 cents less per gallon than New York. Thanks again, Albany.
- Georgia – #1 in speed limits and state police cruisers. I lucked out not getting a ticket here. Heck, I even speed in my driveway. It was nice that the flow of traffic was going 90mph. On to…
- Florida – “Sunshine State” my posterior! It started raining as soon as we hit the state line. Jacksonville was a downpour. And if people drove in New York like they do in Florida our state’s coffers would be filled to the brim with speeding fine dollars. Here, the rear view mirror is optional equipment.
We arrived at my daughter’s destination safe and sound. Fortunately, it is not near the Bermuda Triangle. But I hope she never loses sight of her roots.
The best part of spending so much time together was that I now know I have passed a valuable lesson along to my daughter – how to drive offensively without getting caught, or getting the finger.
