Northern Virginia has become pretty cosmopolitan - you really don't have a sense of being in the South. For the most part, folks don't even have an accent.
Yesterday, I drove over 500 miles from Williamsburg, Virginia to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and there is NO doubt in what part of the country Hilton Head is located. And I discovered a useful tool that allows anyone to determine just how deeply embedded in the heart of Dixie they might be at any point in time should they become otherwise disoriented. It's as simple as turning on the car radio.
In northern Virginia the variety of radio stations would be familiar to any of us Northwest folks...perhaps a slight dimunition of "alternative" stations...but plenty of rock 'n roll from Elvis to the present. Once you point the prow of your land yacht south and start cruisin' it doesn't take long for the music mix to change however.
Once across the North Carolina border you will be hard-pressed to find an alternative rock station and all the classic rock stations are apparently mandated by law to play a certain Lynard Skynard tune at a quarter past the hour without fail. And the number of country music stations has increased four-fold. And you may notice that the soft rock station you are listening to has a play list that includes only tunes with at least one explicit reference to "Jesus" in the lyrics.
By the time you hit the South Carolina border half the stations are nothing more than the local theologians admonishing their flocks. And most of the music is Christian rock, Christian country, gospel, and the like. It was at this point that I recalled that I had two CDs of my favourite tunes in my computer case - said case located on the floor of the passenger seat of my vehicle.
Fortunately "Smokey" was not around to see my SUV careening down I-95 as I fumbled to retrieve a CD, figure out how to insert it into the unfamiliar sound system, and make all the other necessary adjustments. But finally - auditory relief!
The drive down took about 8 1/2 hours as anticipated. The weather was overcast; but only a couple of showers. I-95 is only two lanes in each direction most of the way, and since I was driving only 5 mph over the speed limit, I was constantly changing lanes to pass trucks and campers and to allow everyone else (doing 20 mph or more over the speed limit) to pass me. Not relaxing.
When I got to Hilton Head I checked-into the resort and then holed-up at the Harbour Town Grill to wait for Dougie and Alison to finish their round of golf. Then Alison cooked a yummy supper.
Today, we're going to play the Harbour Town course. This is a PGA event course and we will have a caddy accompanying us. He or she is in for a long day I expect. It will be cool to play the course...stand-by for an update!
Tonight we have reservations at 7 PM at a highly recommended dining establishment and by the time we get back to the condo the first election results should be streaming-in from Virginia and North Carolina. We probably won't be up for results from the West - but once the eastern battleground states have reported the tale should be told. Hopefully with a happy ending...
If you haven't already done so - VOTE!!!!!
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