Georgia On My Mind

My family has started planning our summer family vacation and it got me thinking about the part of the vacation that has the power to break your spirit before the vacation even really starts: the road trip. Throughout the years, I've had several family vacations in Florida and we've driven down from Ohio every time. In my travels, I have become acquainted with the horror that is driving through Georgia.

Coming down from Ohio, you go through Kentucky and it lasts a while. Long enough that you just start to think "man, are we STILL in Kentucky? I'll be older than Colonial Sanders by the time we get out of here." Then you go through Tennessee for about 5 minutes.

And then... you hit Georgia.

You notice that the dirt by the road is red. Do you want to know why the dirt is red in Georgia? It's because you're in Hell.

Miles and miles of tedious, boring landscape. You see a billboard by the road advertising the Georgia Cotton Museum but you don't want to stop to learn about the South's historically least ethically produced good. You just want to get out. You feel like you've been seeing cartoon pictures of peaches for years but you haven't seen a single peach tree yet. And then, suddenly, you hit Atlanta.

It doesn't matter what time you try to drive through Atlanta. Rush hour is every hour there. As if you felt like you weren't spending enough time in Georgia, it's like there's a conspiracy to keep you there. Have you finally entered the Twilight Zone? Are you going in circles? Why are you still in Georgia? WILL IT EVER END?

Finally, when you've just realized you understand the true concept of infinity, you see a sign.

Palm trees sway in the breeze like wooden, leafy beacons of hope. Florida truly is the sunshine state... and it's all the more beautiful because you never thought you'd see the sun again.