Due to a family event I’ve been traveling.
Instead of flying (like a normal person) I drove from California to Florida and back again.
This was driven in part by my hatred of masks, which I think are really not much more than theater (a waving of hands and virtue signaling to make it appear something is being done to combat COVID – 19, a.k.a. the China Virus.) The idea of being forced to wear a mask for upwards of 14 hours while in transit was simply abhorrent. Frankly, by the time I got to Florida they’d have to commit me.
Another reason I chose to drive was that I’ve been cooped up in the house for over a year, Thank you California Lockdown! I really needed a different view of the world.
Lastly, while I could find an airfare that was acceptable (being masked not withstanding, a Valium would have knocked me out for the duration of the flight…) The cost of a rental car was about 3 times higher than the cost of airfare.
So all those factors combined led me to driving.
This was the first road trip with my car and I enjoyed it immensely. I probably spent as much but I was alone and didn’t have to be subjected to insane, oppressive, rules.
A side benefit that occurred to me in Texas was that I would avoiding contact with the great unwashed masses, thereby minimizing the possibility that I’d carry something to my elderly parents home.
Another benefit was that I was free to wander, I was on my schedule and I could stay at or leave a place that wasn’t doing it for me.
This meant that not only was I able to see my parents and attend the family event, I was able to see the other side of the family and spend some time visiting my brothers in Northern Florida.
The trip was glorious. Once I made it to the South, away from the oppressive Western States, masks were optional. Texas is open for business and the people were going about their daily lives smiling. The same was true of every Southern state I drove through. There were lingering vestiges of mask mandates on the doors of convenience stores but these were reminders of what had been, not necessarily mandates.
Some Restaurants & Hotels still asked that you wear masks in lobby areas and to be seated but they weren’t demanding it. After a year of masked fear it was both strange and refreshing to see people’s faces and smiles were glorious.
Florida was wonderful. Food, drinking, and people talking was something I’d really missed. My youngest brother took me to a place I’d never been called Wakulla Springs. We went to a gun show, and hit many drinking establishments.
One common thread in all these places was news programs were generally not blaring doom and gloom. In one place President Biden was booed by the patrons when he appeared on TV. The owner of the venue immediately changed the channel on the TV over the bar.
I saw rain, and thunder storms. There was green in abundance and people not hunkered down in fear. In other words, I saw our country as it should be. People were alive and vibrant.
Contrary to what the media presents in local news in the West or Nationally, folks were being prudent not careless. They were mindful of COVID and not being foolish with their health or the health of others. They were simply exercising their personal freedom of choice regarding their health and accepting risk, each to their own comfort level.
In other words… They were being free Americans.
Coming home, I stopped in Vicksburg, MS and visited a Civil War battlefield that has been made into a National Park. I’d never been there before and spent about half a day wandering. Should I ever revisit Vicksburg or a similar park I plan to have a bicycle.
Vicksburg, in particular would be best appreciated from a bicycle since there is limited parking and are a ton of monuments and explanations of what was happening that can’t truly be appreciated from a car. The road would also have been great to hike, unfortunately I hadn’t actually planned to visit the park and was not properly prepared for hiking it.
The park itself is beautifully maintained, and worth the time to visit
Crossing into New Mexico from Texas was a bit depressing. The lighted traffic signs were all talking about mask mandates and being safe. The hotel was like checking into a hospital complete with reminders at every corner to social distance, wear a mask, sanitize… Live in fear…
Arizona was a little less intrusive about it. Their mask mandates were lifted but most people were still masking up and acting like zombies. Except for one young lady in a gas station outside Flagstaff. She was unmasked and said she was waiting for the owner to take the damn mask signs off the door.
She’d had COVID, and was completely over all the fear mongering.
Crossing into California was very depressing because it meant the end of my trip and submission to whatever Gov Gruesome decided we had to comply with.
I tried to focus on the bright things waiting for me at home. My own bed, the dog who I knew would be happy to see me after being gone for so long, and the other half who would hopefully be happy I was home too.
Now that I’m home it’s easier but as my brother says… “You’ve got to get out of California”
He’s absolutely right!