Traveling Across the Countryside

Last year, my four children and I went on a trip to Southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. We're from Mississippi, so it was a pretty long trip for us especially since we are not that accustomed to traveling. I was going there to take a test for a job.

When starting on a trip, I believe packing and making sure one does not forget anything is half the adventure. That is especially true when one of the children is a diabetic. We packed the night before so that we could get up early and get started.

I own a Chevy Avalanche, and one thing that had to be done was making sure it was ready to go as well. It is quite a traveling vehicle. It has plenty of room, but it also can get great gas mileage when one is on the open road. I was surprised how well it did with gas mileage.

To get to Interstate 65 which would go straight up to Louisville, we made our way across Alabama on Highway 24... which always seems to have construction going on it! By the way, try going on a trip without the GPS. Use an Atlas. That is what we did, and it is an adventure. My sister did not think we could go all the way up there without a GPS, but well...

Once we reached Interstate 65, we were on our way north. I had been to Alabama and Tennessee before, but not Kentucky or Indiana. However, driving in Nashville, Tennessee is quite a challenge because there are six lanes of traffic, and there are also these forks and if you fork the wrong way... you have to go back and start all over again. We only forked the wrong way one time and then we were on toward Kentucky and seeing practically nothing but the Interstate and trees. I decided after all that driving in Nashville that when we came back, we were NOT taking that Interstate. Besides, I wanted my kids to see some countryside.

The closer we got to Louisville, the more nervous I got about driving through that city. I thought if the driving in Nashville was that bad, what would Louisville be like?! Not long before we got to Louisville, we got into a thunderstorm...and boy was it raining! I slowed down to a crawl, and that old Avalanche just went right on through it steady as it could be. It seemed to be a huge thunderstorm, but we finally came out on the other side. And then we got to Louisville.

Louisville, Kentucky was the largest city we have ever seen. It would have been overwhelming under normal circumstances, but they were working on EVERY interstate in that city! DETOURS! Wow. But even with all that, it was easier than driving through Nashville. I think the most challenging thing about driving in a place like that is changing lanes. I reckon everyone knows you have to sometimes so when you put your blinker on, they kinda stay back so you can get in. I felt like we were the only people on that Interstate with a Mississippi tag, and I also felt like everyone around there knew exactly where they were going except me. However, we made it through Louisville without missing any turns, and we crossed the Ohio River after seeing this huge KFC center that my kids definitely wanted to explore.

Our hotel was in Sellersburg, Indiana, which was a town more the size that we're used to. The hotel was not the best one I have ever stayed in by any means, but it was okay. I took my job test the next day, and then the next day, we were heading back home.

It seems the trip back home is always shorter than the trip away.

I told the kids we were going to see the southern part of Indiana, so we took highway 62 because it followed the River. However, I decided it was "too" out in the country, so we got on Interstate 64, and although it is an Interstate, it is the most scenic one I have ever been on. I had no idea that Southern Indiana was so beautiful until we drove across it on that interstate. When we came upon a hill in the road as we topped it, we could see for MILES, and there were farms out there with red barns, and soybeans. I don't know if I have ever seen so many soybeans in my life growing in one place. And if it wasn't soybeans, it was corn...and it was gorgeous.

Once we got to Evansville, Indiana, I was very tempted to go on over in the tip of Illinois and see what it looked like, but I decided we better head on down into Kentucky because we had to get on home, so we took Highway 41 from there. Talk about being on the countryside! And if it was soybeans in Indiana, it was CORN in Kentucky! It was unbelievable. I had never seen so much corn in my life. We did not see anything else, except of course, houses, for miles and miles. When we got back down to Tennessee, the road had hills just like waves. It was just up and down for a long way. We finally got back to Mississippi on highway 45. It was a very enjoyable trip.

So don't be afraid to venture off the Interstate and see the countryside. You don't know what you're missing, and it is something your kids will not forget.