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| Traveling
Far Distances |
Leaving my hometown in Providence, Rhode Island, my truck rental was loaded with my car attached in the back. I said my good-bye's to my friends that I've known for years as I started up the truck. This wasn't easy to do, it being the biggest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I thought about it as I was leaving and still assumed it is the right move. As the truck left, my friends promised me that they will visit. I smiled. Hearing what they said, all of a sudden made it a little easier to leave. Then, driving down the streets of my state, I looked around and was seeing places that I've gone to for over 20 years. Many things were going through my head. I was trying to figure out reasons why I was moving to Florida with no jobs waiting and with no friends over there. As I was coming close to the state line, I wondered what could be so important that made me want to travel to a far distance.
On the highway there was a sign that read, ''leaving Rhode Island, the ocean state.''
''Woohoo!'', I yelled.
I entered Connecticut which is south of Rhode Island and north of New York. Of course this state wasn't new to me; everyone in Rhode Island goes to Connecticut to visit as a day trip. It is a beautiful state that looks like Rhode Island, but has more wooded areas and suburbs.
The forth hour goes by as I see a sign reading ""Entering New York!"" The scenery was changing from greenery to cement and skyscrapers. This was making me excited because I was seeing: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, bridges, tunnels, and the tallest and oldest buildings in our country. I wasn't sure what I was doing and why, but I sure was doing a lot of smiling.
Half way down the east coast, I was leaving Virginia. At this time fifteen long hours have passed and the truck went through three tanks of gas. I saw states like Maryland and Delaware, which are one of the most beautiful and cleanest states on the east coast. Even though these sites were the greatest I've ever seen, the reality of leaving home was setting in.
''Should I turn around?'' I thought. ''When I get to Florida, what am I going to do? I have no work. I have no friends. What was so bad about Rhode Island?''
Visions of regrets start to enter my mind which made me want to stop and relax to do some thinking. Then I turned off of the highway to stop at a gas station and southern restaurant which took me 5 miles away from the highway. This place had a wooden porch in the front and the parking lot was not paved. I took a deep breath and smelling the scent of burning wood that was in the air. It was very different from places in my state, but still gave an inviting feeling. So then, I go inside and walk to the counter and order a coffee-milk.
''What is a coffee-milk?'' asked the server. ''Do you want coffee with milk instead of cream?''
''No,'' I said. ''I want a coffee-milk. It is milk that has coffee flavor in it.''
''I'm sorry,'' she said. ''No places around here have those things. You must be from New York.''
At this time I was thinking to myself how people are different in the south. I was also seeing how these places had no coffee-milk but served grits with breakfast instead of just home-fries. In Rhode Island, breakfast is not served with grits. If you wanted grits, you would have to go and buy the instant grits in the supermarket. Right there I realized something.
''If I stayed in my home state, I would never know how different people are,'' I thought.
Twenty five hours pass after I had left my old house and finally crossed the state line of Florida. Even though there was another eight hours of driving ahead of me to get to my new town, I knew my goal was almost reached.
''I haven't seen places like this in my entire life,'' I said to myself. ''There is so much to see and so many different American people and landscapes. I don't know what I'm going to do when I get to Ft. Lauderdale, but this was a great trip.''
With all of these experiences happening, some would ask if a trip is worth the while. I thought to myself that I really never did expensive stuff like staying in high priced hotels, going to attractions, traveling with friends, and eating at expensive places. I have never seen places outside of New England. It finally came clear to me that you don't have to travel to a far distance for a new job position or vacation, but just to see the big variety of places that are in our country. I can say now that everyone needs to see places they never have been to because it is educating and is the most exciting thing to experience.
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