Mile 2740: Roadgeek Alert

Above: I am appalled to see so many signs about Dix on the road.
(SB I-57, Illinois Mile Marker 103)

I LIKE YOUR SUNGLASSES...
BECAUSE OF THE GREEN TINT.
Attendant at an Effingham, IL Gas Station

Even with long shifts, eating crappy fast-food, not looking debonair, sleeping on beds that aren't mine, and seeing my eyes dyed a crimson red at the end of the day, I still feel like I'm enjoying where my life has taken me. No, I'm not describing what residency is like: It's how to experience Americana through a road trip.

Whew. 1438 miles done and set.

I've actually made it to my Family Medicine core rotation, which takes place at the Miami Jewish Home & Hospitals in Miami, FL. With only a weekend from the end of my last pediatrics rotation and my family medicine rotation, I've been on a rush to make it from one part of the country to another. However, its good the route is actually not foreign territory, so 2 days went by no sweat.

Our family has visited the state multiple times and are yearly visitors to the legendary Disney World. My mom and dad have accompanied me on these trips, and even when as I was just 6 years old, I was the navigator of the trip, looking through road maps to keep us en route. In 2003, just after getting my drivers license, I added onto my duties, taking over my dad at the helm of our van for my first trip. To me, that drive to Daytona Beach in 18 hours from Chicago was one of my rites of passage.

I ended up loving road trips, and not only for the sights at my destination. I discovered a few years ago that the best way to describe my love for the road is with the term "roadgeek." I'm not alone either. There's many other people who are amused when an expressway comes to a stoplight, a 5-level stack carries cars in multiple directions, or trying to explain how poor designs of interchanges leads to traffic jams. I'm also the type of person when, if I have the time, would stop at every hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and little point-of-interest along the way. And finally, but not least, I love road trips because of the people I meet. On the way down to Miami, I chatted with one of the cashiers at a Wendy's in Georgia, a clerk at a gas station in the middle of Illinois, and another clerk at a Winn-Dixie here in Miami. Learning about how other people communicate and their respective culture can be done most of the time with a simple hello. Just keep the attitude that being on the road isn't just a long car ride. With an open mind, you find out its an awesome experience.

Anyway, tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I begin my next six weeks of the journey... Provided nobody blasts through a red light here and hits me, I should make it to May.