The long ride, part 2

The drive from Jacksonville to Savannah on I-95 reinforced why I chose to eschew the faster highways and take the slower back roads: The drive was numbing. You've all driven thousands of miles on interstates; you don't need me to remind you of how boring the long stretches of tree/billboard-lined roads are. But I was hypersensitive to it, probably because, having driven across the country on back roads, I knew how beautiful and interesting the country is.

Exiting just north of Savannah was a relief, and although the initial stretch of highway was boring, we eventually found ourselves winding our way through interesting towns; some picturesque, others in the grip of crushing poverty.

The tapestry of the area was varied, and we passed the time playing car games (the alphabet game, where you had to point out things that began with every letter of the alphabet in the order in which they fall) and listening to music and "This American Life" podcasts.

Jenn's navigation skills shined as she was presented with some difficult directions. A quick aside: Google Maps' directions are good, but they're almost too good — they list every possible name for a street, plot every nuance of the route, including streets on which you travel for 59 feet (seriously), and seem formidable at first. Learning to read the directions was an art in itself and, though we took a minor stumble in South Carolina, she ensured we got from Point A to Point B smoothly. See why I keep her around?

The afternoon was waning away as we approached the Queen City, Charlotte.


(Not my photo)

We made our way through a blinding rainstorm to my grandmother's house and arrived to find her waiting with wine, cheese and fruit. Reason No. 7,937 why I love my grandmother. As the wine coursed through our tired bodies, we grew drowsy and decided to take a nap before dinner. We were out as soon as our heads hit the pillow in the guest room, rising again two hours later for a nice stir-fry dinner and good conversation before bed.

The next day we met Jenn's cousin for lunch — an amazing accomplishment after we got lost on the way back to the city and ended up in rural Union County. After lunch we drove around, saw the house I lived in after I was born until I was 4, and briefly visited downtown Charlotte, home to two of the country's five largest banks.

Being back in Charlotte was a nice experience, and I was amazed at how many memories returned, not only from my family's Thanksgiving trips there a decade ago, but from when I was a child.

After a delicious dinner of Chinese, Jenn and I went to bed early to get some rest before a long day on the road. Tomorrow: Virginia and beyond!

WHAT I LEARNED: Jenn and I make excellent traveling companions. I knew this trip would be very telling of our relationship: Spending every waking second with someone for nine days is often a good litmus test. But after that first day I knew we would have a delightful trip, and that our relationship and friendship would grow even stronger on the road.

FAVORITE PART: The variety and character or towns throughout South Carolina.

OTHER THOUGHTS: I regret not taking as many pictures on this trip. I blame myself for two things: first, sending with the movers my point-and-shoot camera, which takes amazing pictures and fits in my pocket; second, being too lazy to stop, assemble my SLR and shoot a photo.