To Charleston, WV

Decisions, decisions so many things to decide upon. I soaked up my coffee and stared at my map. I needed to be heading West again. Digressions are all well and good, but this was beginning to get ridiculous. Here I was, just past three months into my trip and I was still fooling about on the east coast. Eventually I will end up in California, I originally figured I could hit Canada, the Rockies, doodle about in the Sierras and be in California sometime mid-June. The thing to do was to head West again. Aim my truck at Missouri. I would drive across the Western tip of Virginia into Kentucky and be responsible.

Virginia, oboy another state, another notch in my steering wheel. I jumped into my truck, best intentions in mind and headed Northwest. At Gate City, just inside the state I would turn onto highway 23 to 421 and get up into Kentucky. I arrived at Gate City, my honor intact, double-checked my maps to make sure I had the highway number correct. The roads on the map were interesting. At the West end of Virginia the Adirondacks slant up to the Northeast. A lot of the highways run along the direction of the hills. It looked really interesting. But no. Where would I go? What would my destination be? I looked back at the highways to Kentucky. They would be crossing the ridges of the long mountains. The roads would be winding all over the place. The long, even roads would be heading Northeast into West Virginia, the wrong direction. West Virginia! That would be yet another new state, two notches in one day! The long valleys would probably be beautiful. So I turned Northeast on highway 71 to drive in the long valleys of the Western point of Virginia.

And the valleys were beautiful. Lots of open spaces and farmland. Rolling hills with barns tucked into nooks and crannies. Another lovely drive in the country. I decided I would end the day in Charleston, West Virginia. There is some bit of winding around on the long, slanting roads

It turned out to be a long route. When I reached West Virginia I started out on the wiggly road to Charleston. It was a really wiggly road. An hour later I had traveled, perhaps, 30 miles and crossed the toll road that zooms straight to Charleston. I have an aversion to toll roads. Maybe it is because I don't understand the principle. Most toll roads are designated as Interstates. It is my understanding that a road in the National Interstate System is built with federal money. No matter what state you are in and no matter what state the section of interstate is in, you helped build that road. So how do they justify filling local coffers with something that was constructed with federal money? I suppose "because they can" works in the politician's mind. I can understand the concept with a bridge, they cost a whole lot more per mile, but I just don't see it with an interstate so I try to avoid toll roads whenever possible. But now I was looking at 80 miles to go, a 30 mile per hour average and 2:00 in the afternoon. On the toll road I could be there in something over an hour. I bit my lip, asked forgiveness of the Gods of the Wigglies and pulled onto the toll road. Not much to report on that section of the drive. Big ol' freeway, hardly any curves and no turns.

I arrived in Charleston, West Virginia. I drove about the city and saw it from both sides of the river. For me it was late I hadn't stopped during the day to eat. I found a motel, and found a place to eat. It was one of those predictable places. Later I was sitting at the bar trying to see what some of the locals thought about Charleston. My first neighbor hated it. He found nothing good to say about it. After listening to him for a while and getting him onto different topics I realized that he was one of those people that can't say anything good about anything.

It is interesting how many people tend to put the world at a level with themselves. If they dislike a lot about how they see themselves, they tend to see everything about them as crappy so they fit in better with their world. Inversely, there are people who see wonderful things about the world around them... you know the type, they are always "making lemonade." Not surprisingly, they seem to feel pretty good about themselves as well. Two people can be living practically the same lives and one is hating it. Everything in life is transient. Everything. Good, bad, indifferent, it will all pass. Whatever your situation, you choose the elements of your experience that you carry about with you from moment to moment. It will all be gone some day, even Trump Tower, the things we experience from moment to moment, day to day are gone even faster. Pack your luggage carefully.

And my bar neighbor packed his with lead. He was successful in his job, he made good money, why was he choosing to be so hateful about his experience? He couldn't even find anything good to say about his wife. The way he talked she was a 4-foot shrew with cross eyes, tufted hair and halitosis. She showed up later and I was surprised to see a lovely woman who acted as if she were a kind person and listened carefully in conversation. She must loose 18 inches and her good disposition when she gets home, casting it off like a musty coat so she can properly berate her husband... I dunno I think he was embroidering a little.