Back to Birmingham

Today, I spent several hours in the car, again, ending up in Birmingham, AL. It was fun to see the area again! :) No fun excursions today really, so I just thought I'd put up some of the random thoughts that went through my head as I drove. I didn't start my 2nd book on tape today because I just wanted to listen to music. What better way to spend a Sunday than to listen & sing along with about 4 hours of worship music. And then, to listen to another 4 hours of Josh Groban. All the while, seeing beautiful (& some not so pretty) countryside. :) So, here are some of the thoughts that amused me today:

Dr. Pepper vs. Mr. Pibb: For some STRANGE reason, people outside of Texas seem to think that these two drinks are one in the same. Well, they don't taste the same. When I stopped for some lunch this afternoon in South Carolina, I ordered Dr. Pepper with my meal since it was listed on the menu. Well, the screen where you verify your order (yeah, it was a McDonald's) said I'd ordered Mr. Pibb. When I brought this to the guy's attention, he said that they were the same so the screen displays "Mr. Pibb". I corrected him and told him that I'd take a Diet Coke instead. Not wanting to change my order, he told me to pull up to the window, and we'd discuss it there. Again, he tried to make me take the Mr. Pibb, this time explaining that "Dr. Pibb" (Did he honestly think I'd fall for it if he changed it from Mr. to Dr.?) was the same as "Dr. Pepper". A little irritated at this point - both from having a stupid argument over this and from waiting too long to eat - I told him to change my drink to Diet Coke - "just in case there is in fact a difference between the two!" :) After a sigh, he changed my order. I paid, pulled up to the next window, picked up my food, and left (AFTER verifying that I'd received a Diet Coke!). I know, it was stupid of me to get into a discussion with the guy working the drive through over this, but WHERE's the customer service?!? A little ways down the road, I just had to laugh at the whole scenario!!

Inappropriate Signs: There's a billboard in the Houston area (or probably several of them) that advertises "Budget Funerals $99.99"! NO LIE!! :) The first time my dad and I saw it, we both nearly died laughing. Well, that still holds the #1 spot for inappropriate signs, but today, I saw one that came as a close 2nd. On a sign advertising help for people suffering from alcohol &/or drug addiction, the add read: "Contact the Breakthrough Addiction Recovery". Seriously?!? They couldn't come up with three other words to express their message without the initials spelling the word "BAR"?!? Maybe they did this on purpose - had some reasoning beyond what I can comprehend. But, I found it hilarious! :)

Appropriate Sign: "Flying" around the loop in Atlanta, GA, I saw a sign that said we were on the "Silver Comet Trail." As people flew by me like I was riding a bicycle on the freeway, I thought: Well, that sign is VERY fitting for this stretch of road.

License Plates: As you probably know by now (if you've read my entries from my road trip about 3 months ago), I have a habit of looking at license plates every time I'm on the road. Last time, I even kept a tally of the Illinois license plates. Well, today I saw 5. But, that's not the point of this. Coming from the DC area, where I saw license plates from probably 40 of the 50 states in America, I was noticing how much more infrequently I see out of state license plates the further south I go. More impressive, though, was that once I got out of the northern part of North Carolina, I haven't seen ANY DC plates. It just made me wonder - do they ever leave that area, or do they just fly to wherever they are going? It was nothing to see them throughout VA & MD, and sometimes even PA. But I can't think of a time when I've seen one further than that. Curious.

So, that was my day: driving, listening to/singing with music, and random thoughts! I did, however, have a WONDERFUL burrito from Qdoba's after arriving here in Birmingham tonight. Good times. Tomorrow, I start the final leg of this journey home!

Have a great week! :)