Sunday, September 26, 2010

On Florida...

What is Florida, like 2 feet above sea level? Whenever I come down here I am of two minds...I want to enjoy the exotic nature of being in the subtropics, see the sights you cannot see anywhere else and relish the idea of being half a day's drive from the Gulf or the Atlantic.

Then again, I get antsy about being so low down near sea level and wonder, somewhere in the back of my twisted mind, what would happen if the whole state tilted even a little. Did everyone from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania buy a retirement home just off the Next EXIT along I-95 or I-75? In reality, I suppose I am just jealous that where I live in the winter is nothing and I mean NOTHING remotely like any part of the sunshine state unless you include the northernmost tip on the coldest day ever recorded there and be sure to calculate in the humidity. That type of cold goes bone deep, but seldom lasts very long, and which is one very good reason for the aforementioned middle Atlantic states emptying out from January until April.

When it gets hot in Fla, the same humid conditions apply so that it really FEELS hot, all those ocean breezes notwithstanding. All in all, though, it's a good trip. Since most folks are from somewhere else, it's easy to get along.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Trip One...

September, 1950. Mom and Dad put me, their 6 week old infant into the foot of a black Nash sedan, distributed 6 other children in the remainder of the car and headed west from South Carolina. I do not remember the trip, and only what the older siblings have told me has formed my mental pictures of the journey.

What did we "see" on that trip? What did we talk about? With no interstate highways and plenty of small towns in our path, it was likely eventful and colorful. Motels and TV sets were brand new to my family and the Rocky Mountains may very well have been in a foreign country. I am pretty sure that this experience set wheels to turning that have yet to brake.

Monday, September 13, 2010

20th Anniversary Edition

Over 25 years ago, we started collecting USA Interstate Highway exit information. Our travels around the country with our larger-than-average family had identified the need for a guide which showed, in advance, what services you could find at ANY Next Exit. If we wanted to know what was ahead, we reasoned, so did other people. For over 6 years we gathered, collected, sorted and tabulated every vital piece of information we thought the typical traveler might want. Then we did it again, and again. In 1991, we began publishing our book the Next EXIT. How we ended up calling it the Next EXIT is a story for later on, but for now we will blog about some of the interesting things we see along the interstate highway. Since this is our 20th anniversary edition, we thought you might like to know something about us and our last 20 years. Buckle your seat belts, because there is a lot to see!