Back Road Adventures: Charles Kuralt kind of gave me the idea

Hello Journal,

In continuation with the previous blog post about the back roads, I'd like to share why it's great to take the back roads to get to your destination.

I'm sure a lot of my friends and family remember CBS's segment called On the Road with Charles Kuralt during the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

Charles Kuralt was well known for taking America's back roads in a motorhome (wearing out 6 motorhomes before he was done) to check out people and their doings and makings in life. He said these words: "Interstate highways let you drive coast to coast without seeing anything." Which is not ENTIRELY true because you can sure as green apples see things while on an interstate highway like big cities and what not. But in this post, I'm talking about getting to destinations via the back roads.

To begin, I wanted to be a little more adventurous during my philosophy changes in life. I wanted to check out the East Coast's back road. I learned that the back roads of our nation show the people and their doings, businesses you won't regularly see on the interstate highway, and not only that, hidden business gems that somehow get a lot of business despite their desolate location on a lonely road.

Joanna and I take adventures that basically consist of country music and our serious and "serious" chats. Country music is the best sort of music for America's back roads because that kind of music tells stories about long lost loves, traveling long distances, and America.

Take for example: US-40 in New Jersey. Joanna and I took to towns that I'd never heard of in my life, much less even seen before. Woodstowne, Mays Landing... never heard of those places before. But on that U.S. Route, there were small businesses flourishing and seemingly popular places to stop on the ways up to a gas station or when you just need to rest and stretch your legs. On the road up to Ocean City, New Jersey, I spotted a VW dealership that just really didn't seem to be getting much business with it being on such a desolate street. That's another thing about back roads, you see historic places that may have suffered during the recent economic recession or previous economic failures of the past.

Another great example of hidden treasures on back roads would be going up Maryland 194 on the Woodsboro Pike. Maryland 194 takes you straight up to Littlestown, Pennsylvania on PA 194 - PA 97. Here, it's mostly desolate roads of vast colors, a beautiful sunset, and also seeing Maryland's people and their doings. I'd love to see it during the fall and winter time. Littlestown, Pennsylvania is just the way it is: Little and charming. Lots of houses, plenty of good places to eat, and yes, people and their doings. Right there, we traveled nearly 119 miles.

Pennsylvania is full of hidden treasures, including Route 30 in Maryland to Pennsylvania 94 in Hanover. We drove all the way up there basically for the "fun of it." As we traveled a total of 108 miles up the road to basically just "pass through." We saw more of Maryland and Pennsylvania's peoples and their doings.

Doing something like this is not only fun but it can also being kind of relaxing as well after a hard day at the office. I drive because it keeps me out of trouble, I can be with my girlfriend, and I can see god's beauty and wonder that he created.

There's more adventures to come... Certainly a lot more adventures. We've only scratched the surface of god's wonders.

"Until the next post, I'm signing off..."
~ Joshua