Last leg of the trip

Well I made it to Virginia finally. I could not be more tired. It was a very rushed drive but by far the prettiest leg of the trip.

I opted to leave Cincinnati by way of the Appalachian highway and skip the major interstates. This route took me through the heart of the Ohio River Valley, West Virginia, and Maryland. Along the way I saw some very interesting things. First, I saw prisoners in Ohio dressed in black and white prison stripes. They were cleaning trash off the highway. I guess I knew they wore bright pink in Arizona but I had never actually seen this get-up in real life. The next thing I saw was what I thought was a tractor on the side of the highway. Then I saw horses and I thought how weird that the tractor got stuck and was pulling it with horses. Then I realized it was a wagon and what I thought was the top of the tractor was actually a young man. It was an Amish guy in overalls and everything! After that I kept looking for an Amish town but couldn't see one. When I reached a coal-mining town in West Virginia, I saw a different kind of poverty than I am used to and was reminded just how much that state struggles with it.

The drive was so beautiful. It reminded me that there is so much to see within our borders. You don't have to leave it to see gorgeous landscapes. Not to discourage foreign travel, but it seems like we don't appreciate domestic travel as much as we should.