Washington D.C. And Beyond

Your eyes flash open. Something caused you to awaken. You see a flash of light. A split second later you hear a loud clap of thunder. You sit up and look outside. You see not one lightning strike, but more than a dozen. As they flash simultaneously they light up the sky like the sun on a summer solstice. It is so beautiful. You can feel the energy sizzling around you. The storm builds inside you as you watch the one outside rage on. You hear Mother Nature's frozen balls pounding the roof. There is also a waterfall coming down from the sky above. The storm rages on and its beauty never seizes.

Your parents and sister are also awake. Your mom tells you that it is 2:15 a.m. This is one time you do mind being awakened. You can sleep through almost anything, even a train blowing its horn outside your window. But you woke up to this. Maybe it was your sub conscience waking you. Because it is so early you ay back down and as fast as lightning strikes your back asleep.

Your parents get up before you and start driving so you don't get stuck in rush hour traffic. You get up a short time later to watch outside. The sun has already started to rise above the buildings on the horizon. You are getting close to the District of Columbia now. It is a little overcast today. This may affect your ability to see the city from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. As you cross over the bridge you look out to your right and you can see the fog rolling off the river and shrouding the city. All you can see is the Washington Monument and the dome of the Capital building at the end of Pennsylvania Ave. On better days, you can see other monuments and buildings, including the Jefferson Memorial. But for today you enjoy what you have. Off to the left of the freeway you see a Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel is lit up at night and sits on the water. It stares at the city like a watchful eye.

When you get off the bridge you pass the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Its steeple rises from the rest of the buildings like an old spire out of some rubble. It has an old architecture to it making it beautiful. Another piece of America that you are passing on your trip today.

You continue to see a lot of cities. All the while buildings, power lines, and parks pass by. Some people in other cars seem to be in early morning trances. Others check their phones or check their makeup. They are all oblivious to the world around them. They go about their lives pass and exiting the freeway, never to see one another again. It is like a rat race, people here are going there and people there are coming here. It is never ending and you only get a break from it if you leave the fast moving city. And that's exactly what you are doing.

You leave the hustle and bustle of the cities and stop in Ruther Glenn, VA to eat breakfast. You eat a quick meal at Golden Corral. On your way out you meet an acquaintance. You talk for a short time and then you leave. You make your way down to Georgia weaving your way through North Carolina and South Carolina. Both states have trees that follow the interstate. At one point in South Caroline you cross a river as it is raining out. It rains on and off throughout the traveling, keeping the wildlife hidden in the shelter of the trees. Sometimes you see places where pigs have rooted other times you see a tree that has been torn from the ground by a storm. You don't see any deer this time, but you have before. The deer in this area are really small. They are also a little more orange in color compared to the deer on the western side of the U.S.

Eventually, it starts to pour out and slowly gets dark. Your parents stop outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It is still raining and you can see and hear lightning and thunder. The lightning lights up the clouds like a flashlight trying to pierce some fog. It just illuminates what's in front of it. Your family watches a movie before going to bed. The last thought in your mind, before you drift into a slumber, is how nice it is to travel with your family.