Return to the Original Palindrome

On my two-month anniversary of moving to Winston-Salem, I reflect on my first trip back home since I moved, which was this last weekend. If my return to the original palindrome is news to you, and you're upset that you didn't know, allow me to explain the troubles of coming home for the weekend, which I hope to remedy in the future.

First of all, my ratios are all out of wack. (What, Google? "Wack" isn't a word? Shut it.) My driving-to-Ohio to awake-in-Ohio to asleep-in-Ohio ratio was nearly 1:1:1. Seriously. 17 hours driving, 20 hours awake, 17 hours asleep. This is problematic. I've ruled out the possibilities of driving faster, sleeping less, and teleporting, which doesn't leave me with many other options. I need to get that ratio to at least 1:2:1, though. And if you factor in the time spent on school work within the time awake in Ohio... forgetaboutit.

Okay, so the ratios need work. Next.

I have determined that the drive from Ohio back to NC feels shorter than the drive from NC to Ohio. And for those of you considering a trip down to see me (wink, wink; nod, nod), this should be delightful news to you. It takes about three hours to get through Ohio, and it flies by on the way to NC. If you're on your way from NC to Ohio, though, you hit that Ohio border and it seems like your home should be around the next corner. Nope, not so. Three more hours. From there, you're in the mountains of WV for about two hours, Virginia for about an hour, and NC for about an hour before you arrive in Winston. These diminishing increments of time spent in each state make the drive FLY BY on the way to North Carolina.

Luckily, I know when I'm getting closer to Winston when I start seeing exit signs for towns that are on the weather map of my local news station. When I reached Galax, VA, I was a happy camper! Woot! I'm in the foothills! Almost there.

Ratios - check. Ohio to NC: good, NC to Ohio: sucky. Next.

And at the risk of sounding like a recovering drug addict - I'm off the GPS. Yes, people: I'm off the stuff. I'm officially able to make the drive without the GPS - I'm like a baby weaned from my bottle or an actor who's finally memorized the lines and has gone off the book. Admittedly, I have to rely on it every now and again to find my desired mealtime destination or fuel stop (seriously, on Sunday I let my tank get down to less than 1 gallon of gas in the foothills of Virginia, and the GPS was a necessity to insure I was within driving distance of a gas station).

Ratios, Ohio to NC v. NC to Ohio, off the GPS.

Speaking of stops, if you're really trying to make good time (and I'm ALWAYS trying to make good time), you'll only stop for gas once and you'll pack a meal. If you follow this advice, the drive takes seven hours. I suggest beef jerky and Mt. Dew. It's my favorite road trip meal.

Ratios, Ohio, NC, GPS, limited stops.

And don't forget your sunglasses for the day time. Oh, and don't wear all black because you'll be hot the whole time. And if someone would invent the opposite of sunglasses for the night time, that would be freaking fantastic. I thought I was hallucinating at night after staring into the bright and shiny light of the day all afternoon.

Let's see if I can improve my skills/strategies in some of these areas before the next trip.

Peace, love, and an oil change--

Emily