To Virginia. On Purpose!

My daughter wanted to go to Virginia. On purpose, this time.

 

Randie’s previous foray into Virginia occurred with her mother behind the wheel back in January as they left the Fortress of Ineptitude to go see me in the hospital where I was after breaking my elbow and having a stroke.  I should point out that my loction was to the south of the Fortress; Virginia is to the north. So how did my wife and daughter on their way to see me in the hospital in the south wind up going north into Virginia?

 

Your guess is as good as mine. Randie wasn’t sure either. My wife Andrea has a really bad sense of direction but I would’ve hoped she could tell north from south.

 

Anyway, Randie and I had the day off together Monday while Andrea was at work. We were driving back from lunch at Panera… OK, that’s not right. “We” weren’t driving anywhere. Only one person at a time can drive a car. Randie was driving.

 

Randie got her permit last summer and will likely get her license this summer. She has made excellent progress as a driver, going from clutching the steering wheel in terror with a mantra of “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!” to a more comfortable state. As for her father over in the passenger seat, I am… getting used to this. I’ve spent so much of my adult life being the driver, it’s nice to be a passenger for a change. And it’s even nicer as Randie’s skills have improved and I’m a lot less in fear for my life.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, leaving Panera.

 

I saw that a new highway connection near our home had just opened that day. Randie (like me) really enjoys driving down a new stretch of road so off we went. There were signs indicating that this route would take us to Martinsville, about 35 miles away.

 

Randie asked “Where’s Martinsville?” I said it was in Virginia and Randie’s eyes lit up. “Can we go to Martinsville?”

 

“Why?” I asked.

 

“Because I want to go to Virginia. On purpose this time. I want to drive to Virginia.”

 

We had absolutely no business or other reason to go to Martinsville or anywhere else in Virginia. So I said, “Sure! Why not?”

 

And off we went. Sometimes the best road trip is the one you don’t plan with no particular purpose. We were going to Martinsville for no other reason that it’s there.

 

So we travelled across the state line into Virginia on to Martinsville. Martinsville basically has everything we have in Greensboro: CVS and Walgreens drug stores. Advance Auto Parts. But we were in a different town and state and Randie had driven us there.  Cool!

 

We decided it was time to head back to Greensboro and we followed a sign with “Greensboro” on it that pointed to a road. So we followed that road… to Danville VA. I’m not sure how we managed that but there we were. I guess it isn’t a trip to Virginia without going somewhere not on purpose. In Danville, we stopped at a Sheetz store for gas and a couple of milk shakes. Yes, there’s a Sheetz on every other street corner in Greensboro but this one was special. It was in Danville!

 

Randie eagerly posted online that she had driven to Virginia! Eventually we found our road heading south and towards home.

 

Randie said she had enjoyed this trip.

 

Really? All we did was drive around aimlessly and bought a couple of milk shakes we could’ve gotten in Greensboro.

 

But I agreed. It was a good trip. Because, sometimes the best road trip is the one you don’t plan.