The Crow's Nest

Somebody wise, not exactly sure who, once said, it is not your destination that matters but the journey. It may’ve been a metaphor for life, but it applies to automobile trips as well.

It is getting to be that time of the year when the semester winds down and some will be heading home for a little bit. I am sure that most will want to hop directly on Interstate 275 to either leave St. Petersburg or arrive at home as quickly as possible. But there are only so many times you can make a trip on an Interstate highway, they all look the same and in fact that is their intention.

The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was created to replace the U.S. Highway System. In 1919, after the conclusion of World War I, Eisenhower led a convoy of military trucks across the country from Washington, District of Columbia to San Francisco, California. The trip took 56 days; Eisenhower concluded that if we were ever invaded, we would be unable to adequately respond to the threat.

After seeing the Nazi Autobahn system that was created to efficiently move war material from one end of the country to the other, Ike thought that it would be a good idea for the United States to have a similar system. In 1956, during his presidency, Eisenhower embarked on the most ambitious public works program in the history of this country, the Interstate Highway System. The system was built to certain standards, such as the height of overpasses, which was needed so military equipment could move freely, or the distance between exits, so our airplanes could take off to intercept the enemy if needed.

When traveling on Interstates you miss so much of the landscape, the scenery that makes a place what it is, and the local flavor. This is because the Interstate is made to quickly move people from point A to point B; one sacrifices traveling through different communities for speed and monotony.

There is hardly a greater feeling than driving with the windows down and having your hair whip in the breeze when traveling over a U.S. Highway, a State Route, or a County Road. Sure you may encounter some red lights or get stuck behind someone who is traveling a few miles below the speed limit. Take a deep breath and observe the scenery while still paying attention to the road.

During the winter when traveling through Polk County, and others as well, one can expect to smell the intoxicating smell of the orange blossom. Pull off to the side of the road and observe the large cattle farms in Osceola, Okeechobee, and Hardee Counties.

There are countless roadside monuments and statues than one can stop and observe. When traveling through the Panhandle Counties, and some of them in Central Florida as well, there is a monument in front of every County Courthouse honoring Confederate Veterans. You can stop at a roadside produce stand and get an entire flat of Plant City Strawberries for five bucks, three pounds of bananas for one buck, or sack full of Indian River oranges for three; prices that Publix or even Wal-Mart cannot beat.

Stop and pick some roadside flowers for your Ma, girlfriend, wife, or significant other.

In Micanopy there is a filling station that when paying cash you can pump gas into your automobile and then walk into the store and pay for it. You can tell a lot about a community from what products a convenience store has.

Flashing red or yellow lights are a sign of a less trafficked road which are common when you get off the beaten path.

Roadside barbeque joints are the best. When encountering one that has not been inspected by the health department, you know you are in the right place.

Perhaps my favorite roadside signs are the ones that mark the “Walkin’” Lawton Chiles Trail, commemorating where he made his 1,000 mile trek on foot across Florida meeting with countless Floridians before the first primary election for United States Senator during the 1970 campaign. The white sign with the green bar and a pair of beat up boots signify you are travelling over sacred ground; Chiles’ boots are enshrined in the Capitol. Just remember that “the old he coon walks just before the light of day.”

Again, there is just something so soothing about cruising down a county road with some freshly purchased Cajun-style boiled peanuts, windows down, and some good road tunes playing from the radio while riding into the setting sun. When you are leaving for home in May, take the road less traveled; make your journey the trip not the destination.

fkurtz@mail.usf.edu