On a prolonged road trip, much can go wrong. Car problems. Border issues. Bad weather. Difficulties with travel companions. Dangerous road conditions. Fatigue and illness. If we took into account all the possible ways for harm to arrive, we'd never leave the house.
We have set out on a road trip to Austin, Texas. Why? Well, why not? We have never been to Texas before, and that state looms like an enchanted kingdom to us. We were raised on TV westerns, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gene Autry, and the like. Texas always seemed larger than life and we needed to see it to find out if it's real. And Austin is a city we think we might learn to love. Liberal, music-loving, an island in the middle of vast oceans of cowboy prairie: a university town, state capital, high-tech centre, and owner of probably the best civic slogan on earth: "Keep Austin Weird." We have to see this !!
Today was the reason why we drive. We were completely on schedule. The weather started out well and improved as we headed south and west. The car performed flawlessly. The route was easy. The border crossing took all of 15 minutes. Lou and I were happy.
Michigan was familiar: dowdy, dirty and depressing. Detroit is a city in need of a bath, and the road out of it wasn't fast enough. Ohio was a pleasant surprise. Open, clean, and orderly, it reminded of southern Ontario. But there was no doubt we were in America. Billboards advertised guns, forty different types of beef jerkey, porno and churches. The further south we drove, the more God took top billing. High schools and small colleges with football stadiums any CFL team would give eye teeth for. Fast food and fireworks. The aviation cradle of the world, and God as the co-pilot.
It was a good day. No harm or confusion. A safe, peaceful night ahead in a cookie-cutter suburb of Dayton that could be anywhere. Tomorrow will take care of itself.
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