Avoid all major Highways...

Yesterday, I spent some quality time with my two older brothers playing golf at the Cameron Hills Golf Course, in King George, VA. The golf course is tucked away east of Fredericksburg between the mild transitions of farmland and tall mounting forests. As I exited off highway 95 and headed east of Route 3, I began to notice that the highway was quickly transitioning into the hallways of my past. The streets, signs, buildings and stores began to take the shape of the Virginia I once knew when I was younger growing up in Martinsville. Nothing similar to the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia. Here the world began to slow down as if a skilled artist was creating scenic paintings right before my eyes. After I played the hills and valleys of the challenging Cameron Hills Golf Links, I decided to take the Road Less Traveled back to Northern VA. I set my GPS to avoid all major highways, and began my journey back to Manassas, VA. I dipped and dodged through every backroad and unpopular sidewinder I could find. On these roads as people mowed their lawns, washed cars or walked the dogs, they all threw their hand in my direction greeting my passing. It was amazing how complete strangers took a second to acknowledge my presence. The more I drove the more relaxed and calm I felt. Yesterday, I got a great reminder of what Virginia was all about. It is about the "the Beautiful People" who live here. Traveling up Rt. 1, it dawned on me that I-95 was just west of me, serving as a speedy highway for the region's busiest travelers. The irony was most people choose I-95 because it is supposed to be the faster and the most direct path north. All traffic reports though told a different tale. I-95 was moving slow, jammed with traffic, and it was I that was moving fast, in a world that seem so slow and serene.