Take the Back Roads

by Wendy Victora, guest writer

Last week I had an opportunity to drive from Milton to Crestview along U.S. Highway 90, which I'm guessing used to be a very well-traveled corridor.

Now, of course, folks can jump on Interstate 10 and four-lane it without interruption.

But when I drive somewhere, I like to see what I'm passing. It reminds me of how quickly our world is changing and helps me to appreciate what I have today.

Along that 30-mile stretch, I saw a pygmy goat farm, a boarded-up school, a cinder block tavern that had seen better days. I also saw beautifully painted homes, what seemed like miles of bright white fence and a sign making fun of President Obama.

The miles flew by.

Along the interstate, I pass the time by counting the mile markers.

Back in the days when my parents traveled, roads such as U.S. 90 were the super highways.

Gas stations, restaurants and the kind of motels where you park right in front of your room were sprinkled everywhere - little oases of civilization along desolate stretches of road.

They have been replaced by gleaming hotel chains featuring continental breakfasts, Jacuzzi suites and free wireless Internet. Locally owned restaurants have ceded to nationally recognized chains. Full-service gas stations have gone the way of 8-track tapes and transistor radios.

We have moved on, and I'm not complaining.

In fact, when planning a trip, I happily leapfrog between one well-known hotel chain to the next.

But in between, I like to be reminded of the real world, where fences have to be painted, horses graze and businesses come and go. I like to see where people live, to imagine what they see when they look out their kitchen window.

I'd rather drive than fly for that reason. And I'd rather take the road less traveled.

If you haven't done it in a while, try it. Take a different route to work or to the gym. Turn down a road you've never been on before.

Life is short. Be present for it.

As my 8-year old told me tearfully in the first minutes of 2011, "We only get each day once."

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--Wendy Victora is Staff Writer at the Northwest Florida Daily News in Fort Walton Beach.