Country Road...Take Me Home

For my brother's college graduation, we had a party/dinner for him at an excellent Italian restaurant in the town that I grew up in. Driving there today, we bypassed my house and went a different route to ensure we would get there a bit quicker.

(On a side note, on our way up Garden State Parkway North today, we got stuck behind a whole line of state troopers, sheriff cars, DOC buses, SUVs, etc. A state trooper was serving across the whole parkway to ensure no one would be driving alongside the buses. This happened for close to 20 miles of the parkway, which did not create a fun driving experience for us.)

As we were driving through my home town, I was swarmed with memories of who lived where, places my friends and I would drive to, things we would do, etc. I am amazed by how many people report their high school experiences as ones they would like to forget, when mine are filled with so many great memories. I can tell you that my years in high school were not always so great, I did hit my spells of times when I hated life, however, these days, I am fortunate enough to mostly remember the great days.

When I lived in my hometown, I was not always happy to be there. Everything was so spread out, and I lived on top of the mountain, so it was not convenient to get to and from my friends' houses. Before I had my license, my parents were not always so apt to drive me all over the place, unless they were dropping me off for the night somewhere.

Now when I drive back through, I do think it's beautiful. Most especially, when we were driving down a particular steep road, you could see the rolling green hills/mountains, and my town nestled down in the "valley". I don't think I would ever want to live back there again, but it's always refreshing to dirve through and reminisce.