little road trip...

...leaving home on Friday afternoon, and driving to Decatur. Getting into dense, high-speed traffic is always an iffy proposition. Without a smart phone to advise and update the latest facts on minute to minute road hazards, it's always a guessing game as to which route would be the Least Likely to Come to a Screeching Halt for No Apparent Reason. Several options for getting into town via Interstates and onto surface streets - but no predicting which will be the smoothest choice. You can depend on Murphy's Law to be in effect. As it was on Friday: meaning the route not taken is best.

I despise, totally hate that place south of the stadium where the two Interstates merge into one, heading north, to whizz through the center of town. Where I-85 comes up from the southwest, and is routed over I-75 to merge into the left/outer lanes, and a gazillion passenger cars, work trucks, vans and semi-tractors are all jockeying to squeeze into traffic that is usually going about 70 m.p.h. headed through downtown. Depending on my stress level (always high as I get closer into the city and heavy traffic),  time of day, current speed of travel, number of vehicles on the road, weather, anxiety, how early or late in the current traffic flow I got underway. Options include: I-85 to I-28 E 5 to I-20, I-85 to I-75 to I-20, I-85 to I-285 W to I-75 to I-20, or just stay at home, where there is  no traffic at all. Though it is daresome to get out of the driveway at 8 am. on school days.

So, no matter which way you pick, you soon realize it was the wrong choice. And as the six to eight lane wide Interstate highway slowly becomes a huge parking lot, with thousands of cars and trucks creeping along, you proceed to second guess yourself. Factor in:  a Friday afternoon, when all the guys in utility vans and work trucks, contractors and lawnservice guys were hoping to get off early, stop by the curb store and buy their beer before everyone else is finished for the week. Mumbling how you would already 'be there' if you had made a different choice. Inching along at seven and a half miles and hour with hundreds and hundreds of people who made the same Wrong choice. Thinking 'I would already be out of this, off the highway and into town if I had not been so industriously Second Guessing myself.'