Weirder and Weirder, and Slower and Slower

Yup, it just keeps getting weirder and weirder and slower and slower. The time is just dragging on slowly but it may be because of the speed of things and people around me. I saw a sign today speed limit 60 minimun 45. Do people really need to be told they have to drive faster than 45mph on the freeway? Yeah it was a freeway, not one of them therrrre highways. An actual interstate.

I drove from Wilmington, North Carolina to Florence, South Carolina. On the way I got to travel on some more really fun two lane roads again with the ditches on each side. Only this time, the ditches were swampy ditches. That smelled nice. Also the roads just seemed to clutter more and more with trash as I drove along. It is a bit irritating on these roads for a few reasons:

People can turn around if they decide to and make u-turn, so it isn't uncommon to have someone appear as if from nowhere going as slow as 15mph.

To change highways, you must cross over them, like a left turn, and dodge the semis who seem to drive faster than normal cars.

There is nothing around. I mean nothing. Actually there is really green grass, greenest I have ever seen. And of course trees, and occasional lakes, rivers and streams which is kinda cool. Sometimes you will drive into what may be a "town" or umm-- more like a village, town is too big a word for what these are. In these villages, there will be maybe five buildings and three of them are abandoned. All of which open or closed, look like something from a horror film. The one that is open is always selling soda and "collectables." I wonder what kind of things these places consider, collectables. Hub cabs maybe? That reference will make sense later.

And one more thing about these highways, people just through a trailer in the middle of nothingness, these highways being their street. So they start to drive 20mph two miles before they get to their dirt road, cuz even they have to look for that stick they hammered into the ground, nailed a piece of wood to, and scratched their last name on it. That's a street sign right therrrr y'all.

These houses you see driving are pretty nuts. One minute there is a beautiful home with a barn cows and chickens. Then you drive further and see trailers, mobile homes, trailer/dumps, more trailers. Half of these places of residency, or shacks, look as though they have been abandoned for years and barely standing. Then you will notice a little kid run out of the "shack" and a man sittin in his lawn chair on the porch with a cigarette. In these "villages" they either don't have trash pick-up or can't afford it, so they just pile it in their lawns. This makes it unclear if someone lives there, or if it's a dump. However, no matter WHAT there is always a beautiful church within ten miles. Priorties seems to be in order here...uhh why not hold off on that five story church being built a half-mile from three others nearby, and maybe pick up some trash? But no, churches are the most important, obviously.

Driving down the highway it must be an unspoken rule, to wave. I kept thinking what the heck are these people waving at, but by the fifth one I realized, "OOOOOhhhh they are waving at me. That's why they sit in their porch all day, they are waiting for someone to drive by to wave to."

I arrived at my hotel last night and my bed looked like the maid took a nap in it and there was nothing in the restaurant but nachos, potato skins and fried chicken wings. I have yet to have a hotel with an elevator (aside from Virginia) and at every hotel, the hot water is on the right, and the cold on the left. It's like twilight zone or something.

I wake up this morning and try to go to my location for the day to teach my class. I find out, I am beyond the point of no return, I am somewhere that my GPS can't tell me where to go. I must say I felt more in the middle of nowhere than I had yet. No wonder why people from these areas are scarred to death coming to California the first time. So I get directions and as I'm driving to work I see this house. ( This is where the hub cap reference comes in) This house has a chain-link fence all around it and from the base to the top, it is covered with hub caps. Now I didn't notice that the entire house was covered from top to bottom with hub caps as well until I drove back by it returning from work. I tried to take a picture as I was driving by but, all of the owners of the ten vehicles parked in front were chillin there to pull out their shotgun and get anyone that pissed them off.

I drove to Columbia, South Carolina today but I have nothing else to say now except that
I can't eat anything that isn't deep fried, dripping with grease, and topped with bacon and sour cream. Welcome to Obese America ladies and gentlemen!