Route 66...and a bunch of other Routes

Due to my travel preparations and other distractions, I neglected to post this entry, mostly written on my way to NY a month ago.  But now I’ve got all the time in the world thanks to 6 hour train rides.

On my drive to New Mexico five and a half years ago, I was amazed by the number of trucks on the road, as I hadn’t previously spent a lot of time on east-west highways.  I was also interested in the cliché sightings such as oil drills and cowboys in Texas.  These things were no longer of note this time around, thanks to the time I’ve spent living in the southwest and extensive driving in both directions on I-10 to get to an airport.  So here are a selection of things that I learned on this road trip:

•        Dr. Seuss must have spent time in NM – I’ve long thought that Dr. Seuss must have been inspired by NM flora in his illustrations.  I submit for evidence this photo of a century plant in bloom.  For those unaware, these things throw up thick stalks that look like giant asparagus and literally grow several inches, maybe even a foot, per day.  The below photo is admittedly from Silver City, so not technically part of the road trip:

Agave/Century plant

• Then, in northeastern New Mexico, I drove past a town named Zuzax, which seems to be straight out of Seuss.
•   Farmers need their own dating service.  In a Motel 6, I decided to turn on the TV, a novelty since I don’t own one.  I saw a commercial for FarmersOnly.Com, a dating service for “ranchers, farmers, and” country dwellers, featuring actors dressed from the 90s, dogs and cows “talking” about how the humans will never find someone on the farm, with a closing line of “city folks just don’t get it.” I suppose a farming-specific dating service actually makes sense, but nonetheless this commercial seemed ridiculous.  It was actually the only entertaining thing on TV that night, but maybe you had to see it.
• Oklahoma is windy.  And humid.
• The City Museum in St. Louis, MO is amazing.  It’s an old warehouse that has been turned into a giant playscape built with recycled industrial materials including slides, caverns, “trees”, etc.  The best views of the city may be from the rooftop ferris wheel.  Go see it. St. Louis is also humid.
• Cincinnati is full of fun activities.  My aunt and uncle and cousins and all their friends would like me to tell you this, as they kept emphasizing it on my visit.  It’s actually true though, despite the humidity.
• New York charges an arm and a leg for the pleasure of sitting in hours of traffic to enter the southern portion of the state, where you get to sit in more traffic.  Here the humidity is intermittent.  

     Glad the driving part of my journey is over.