the scenic route

from IN through KY to TN (nashville). it was a long drive, but really beautiful. some parts of rural southern indiana looked just like rural maine, nh or vt, believe it or not. i know it's a cliche, but the scenery was like a merry go round of farms, churches, dead downtowns, and gleaming new walmart-themed strip malls. lowe's hardware, home depot, staples, you name it - it's all there and brand, brand new. i guess these are the new "downtowns"

it's still shocking to see the same thing over and over and over again in each new town: martin, jasper, huntingburg, dale, IN. all the same - sprawling country, boarded up storefronts with churches open for business, and shiny new malls.

some funny signs along the way:

"Welcome to Martin County Hills: the best gypsum, the biggest catfish"
"Video rental/Tanning"
"German American Insurance" (just in case you lose your german americans, insure your supply today! - jasper, IN)
"To laugh each day is like inner jogging." (church in huntingsburg, IN)

all in all, it was a pretty uneventful ride, colored by the "America: the book (the audiobook)" from the daily show guys (hilarious), and the anti-abortion/UN billboards.

and don't forget, oct 2 is the first annual "take a child hunting" day. i'm not sure i can even comment on that one.

now i'm with miriam in nashville, which is truly a very cool town. saw some western swing last night, and hoping to buy some kick ass boots. more updates later. oh! and wifi is FREE everywhere. cafes, restaurants, from indy to nashville. just free. they expect you to buy a cup of coffee or something, but you don't pay for the wifi. how cool is that? definitely a nice change from the Northeast.

ps. forgot to mention the NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. drove right by it. i knew they existed (like, on the simpsons...and in france), but had never seen one here before. it was huge.