Highways and Byways

We Dreamers recently returned to Florida from NC. We were towing a trailer with a tiny tractor and a few other implements on it. Neither of us prefers traveling on the Interstates in SC, as in most areas the roads are substandard. They have not been enlarged to 3 or more lanes and traffic is horrendous. For too many years the state has failed to acquire enough funds for its roads and maintenance and/or new development so improvements are lagging or severely lacking. (We lived in SC for 34 years...we kinda see/understand what is/has happened!)

So, we often opt for traveling on the by-ways. The highways of times gone by. We usually take State 321 out of Columbia to US 301, all the way to Ocala, FL. These roads were some of the original major thoroughfares for travelers in the past.

Sadly, the opening of the Interstates was a death knell for the small towns on the former major thoroughfares. In areas where no manufacturing existed, or those without colleges/universities that brought young folks into the area, the towns slowly shriveled up....and died. 

As we travel on our path, from town to town, I see ghosts! Ghosts of towns that no longer thrive. Ghosts of a by-gone era when small towns thrived throughout the south. Now, the brick storefronts in town after town stand vacant, with blank, unseeing windows, many covered in boards. Buildings that will eventually fall victim to decay in the damp, humid climate.

When we get to US 301 we probably see a hundred motels..."Motor Hotels" that had their hey day in the 50's and 60's, the "Golden Era" before the Interstates and before corporate dominance. Some have reinvented themselves and are still in use, more stand vacant and in disrepair. 

My mind explodes in visual images of vacations past. Of times when the family climbed into the Vista Cruiser station wagon and headed out for a vacation! I can almost see my family stopping for a picnic along the way, and staying at any one of these motels. 

From the Internet 

There we were, the perfect little family, having our own adventures! 

Did you have similar adventures?