Twinkies!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

GREENVILLE, SC – Today we added North and South Carolina to the list of states we have visited in the US. The number of states yet to go is getting smaller all the time.
Weatherwise, it was a lovely day today. The sun was shining and the temperature was mild, and there were only a few gusts of wind to remind us of what we had struggled through yesterday. Our route took us west and south as we work our way ever closer to Florida. We continued to see mountain terrain for the most part, mostly devoid of snow except for a few places at higher elevations. Sometimes we saw patches of green grass, and here outside our motel there are actually pansies in bloom and green clover with tiny white flowers in the courtyard!
When we pulled off Interstate 81 at midday to refuel and grab a bite to eat, on a whim I picked up a package of Hostess Twinkies for our dessert. We had heard on the news that the company had declared bankruptcy, so I thought it would be good to have a taste of the iconic confection before there were no more to be had. I’ve heard that Twinkies are so full of preservatives they have a shelf life of years, but I figured one each wouldn’t kill us. Now that I have tasted one, I probably never will again. Once was enough!
Traveling on US interstates really gives an idea of the massive size of this country. The system of highways was a legacy of President Eisenhower, with north-south arteries given odd numbers and east-west ones even numbers. A map of the whole US shows multiple spiderwebs of interstate highways from coast to coast, studded with cities of major proportions. When I think of the Trans Canada Highway, one thin line from Newfoundland to BC, it really demonstrates how much smaller and how sparsely populated, relatively speaking, Canada is.
Even at a service station here, you can choose between more than half a dozen kinds of milk – chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, plain, two per cent, whole, skim – where a similar establishment in Canada might have two choices. We just don’t have the population to support that kind of variety.
We are staying tonight in Greenville, South Carolina, a region where peaches, pecans and peanuts grow. Michelin Tires is headquartered here and BMW has a central office nearby as well. But checking out the sights was a bit lower on our list of priorities than ensuring we had clean socks and underwear for the coming days, and our motel has a guest laundry, so we got that chore out of the way! Only problem was, the dryer didn’t quite do the job, even after an hour, so our room is festooned with slightly damp T-shirts and socks that need just a little more time to dry completely.
Our dining options for tonight were Burger King, Waffle House or a Mexican restaurant, so it was Whopper night for Val, and a fresh salad with grilled chicken for me. We are looking forward to preparing our own fare in our own home-on-wheels before long. Only a few more days till we get to Florida!