24 hours to get to bryan, texas, starting at 11pm on wednesday evening. it’s a terrible idea on paper, and it’s pretty much a terrible idea in practice. some highlights:

1. leaving at 11pm also means it’s probably going to be cold. so cold it snowed, making it infinitely scarier to drive at high speeds. (i still drove fast. i was just more scared.)

2. va and most of tn took us through the night, and i got to see the sun rise just before we hit chattanooga. jimmy was sleeping. more on that later.

3. georgia was quick, but alabama lived up to its sterling reputation. we got to see chain gangs on the side of the highway. apparently alabama reintroduced the chain gang in 1995, 40 years after it was banned. why did they do this? nostalgia? who knows. i don’t remember actually seeing them in chains and a number of people have mentioned that they like the idea of making prisoners be productive. however, i found the whole thing a little unseemly. no real explanation. just a feeling.
i do remember seeing a sign on the road that said “please don’t litter,” and then immediately thinking, “then what will all the chain gangs do?” i blame it on fatigue.

4. apparently all men’s bathrooms have condom dispensers, but in women’s rooms, we usually get some sort of feminine product dispenser. not so in this one mississippi pit stop, where they treat us females like true equals. since condoms are such a rare sight for me, i took a closer look:

“hm. colors … interesting … super strong (with spermicide) … good to be cautious … goodie box? wtf.

a close-up:

what exactly does a condom from “different cultures” look/feel like? and how can it be made “specifically for [my] personal enjoyment,” yet it’s randomly “sold in rotation.” and why am i wasting time trying to parse out the logic of a condom ad? i also enjoy the nc-17 pair in the background.
probably my biggest regret from this trip is not buying one of these condoms.

5. lastly, the louisiana we drove through was pretty crappy, and texas is a BIG STATE. the rest of these posts are not going to be anywhere near as interesting as this one, sorry to say.

Tags: condoms, road trip | Comments (1)