Road Trip

The big thing on Facebook last week was how many states have you been to.  I didn't take the quiz because I know right off the bat.  45.  Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii and North Dakota.  I don't really care if I don't make it to the last one unless there is a woodchipper involved.  But right now, I'm sitting in a Super 8 in York with the volleyball team.  On the way out here I heard some comments from the back of my van about seeing a super rest stop.  Apparently, one of these kids has never seen a rest stop with a restaurant.  Really?  I might understand going 16 years if you lived somewhere without a toll road, but the PA Turnpike is only 7 miles from this kids house.  The Oakmont plaza is right there.
I remember hearing of something called and "Oasis" that my brother spoke of when he traveled west.  That's where they built a rest stop between the 2 lanes and people traveling in both directions can enjoy the same stop.  Then when I saw it, I thought it was pretty cool.  I was 14 and in Illinois.
While driving today, I thought about not only how many states I've been in but also, how many I've driven to or from Pittsburgh.  (The Pens just tied the game at 2)  Of those 45 states that I've been to, I have driven to or from (I once flew to Phoenix to help my brother move back) all but California, Nevada, Washington and Utah. On separate occasions, I've driven to the Tex/Mex border, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma and driven back from Arizona.  (Pens go up 3-2)
I've seen some pretty cool things.  Today I got to see the York barbell company with plaster weightlifter on a spinning pillar.  If you've been on one of these road trips with me, if I know of a big landmark coming up, I'll usually offer ice cream to the first person to see it. (ask anyone about Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower.  I always win.)  Probably my favorite thing to see is the Gateway Arch.  When I was 4 and on my first trip to Nebraska, we stopped in St. Louis, rode the craziest elevator I've ever seen.  Then when we went on some military ship in the Mississippi at the base.  I sat at one of the guns, looked up an saw a structure fire across the river.  Guess what I thought I did.
All that to say, I love road trips.  I am driving home from Florida next month, driving round trip to New Hampshire this summer, and another road trip to Michigan.