Sunday, November 9, 2014

I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes

Driving back home from my conference today, I spent quite a lot of time in the car. I do enjoy a good road trip, as long time readers of this blog would know. Lately, I've especially enjoyed having Blake along for company. We road trip well together.

Sadly, Blake was not with me this time, and I missed him. Instead of talking to my dear husband to pass the time, I listened to podcasts and ate an obscene amount of Twizzlers. Talking to him since I got back, however, we've realized there are two things the D.C. area roadways lack.

One, we're perfectly okay with - billboards. Apparently, removing billboards on the nation's highways was a project of Lady Bird Johnson's.  I suppose a remnant of that project are laws prohibiting billboards in D.C. and in surrounding area highways. I only saw a handful on I-81, generally advertising local attractions. Within an hour of D.C., there were none whatsoever.

I dislike billboards. Maybe they help with advertising, but I find them to be eyesores and they don't change often enough to be interesting. When driving the same highways with any frequency, seeing the same billboards over and over gets boring. Fortunately, without billboards, I get to enjoy the natural scenery, focus on the traffic, and enjoy unimpeded views.

The second thing the D.C. area roadways lack are Sonic Drive-Ins. The closest one is an hour away from us. In fact, Roanoke had 4 to choose from today! But D.C.? Zero. It's probably a good thing, since if I lived within any sort of convenient distance to one, I'd be drinking way too many cherry limeades and other drink combinations and snacking on too many tater tots. Instead, it's become a treat for Blake and me on road trips. If we pass one, we generally make a stop. We have it less often, so it's a little more special than just an everyday option. So, today, I really enjoyed my 44 oz cherry limeade, corn dog, and tots, and Blake enjoyed the last dregs of my drink. I don't know when I'll get another and I'm at peace with that.

Sonic tots after visiting Bethany Beach, DE, in 2013

What about you - how do you feel about billboards? Are you pro-Sonic? What's your favorite treat?

3 comments:

Giggles said...

Definitely anti-billboard, but we don't live close enough to DC for that to make a difference here.

Not a real fan of Sonic, but now I'm going to go get some tots as a late night snack tonight.

AmandaStretch said...

There is never a bad time for tots.

Heidi said...

Tots! Yay! Also, when I was in Palm Springs several years ago for a wedding, I loved their no-billboard city ordinance. It made the city that much more attractive.