Like a lot of you, I've been on a lot of plane rides in my life, too numerous to count. The excitment of flying has long gone, but I still enjoy getting a window seat and looking out over the landscapes. On a recent flight from Raleigh, NC to Nashville, TN, I knew just about where I was the entire flight. We followed I-40 almost the entire flight. I saw the different cities on the way and spotted the tank farm that I loaded gasoline at for 12 years in Greensboro, NC. Soon after, I noticed we were flying over the mountains and I then saw Pigeon Forge, TN where my wife and I spent our honeymoon 19 years ago. Later I saw I-40 cross the French Broad River and I knew we were near Knoxville. Sure enough the city soon appeared below me about 35,000 feet. I then noticed the massive smoke stacks of the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant west of Knoxville on I-40. You cannot miss these 1000 ft. monsters reaching to the sky. Soon after, I told my wife, we were getting ready to descend and sure enough the pilot throttled down and we started descending into Nashville.
On a recent flight from Dallas, TX to North Carolina I wasn't able to follow along from my window with the kind of detail mentioned above, but I was able to see the Mississippi River and later, the Blue Ridge Mountains indicating that I was getting close to home. I'm sure most of you have similar stories as we've traversed this nation of ours for many years.
A retired truck driver friend of mine recently got back from his "bucket list" road trip from Virginia to the Pacific Coast in Washington. He told me that to truly appreciate this land of ours, you have to stay off of the interstates and get the real experience of riding through the small towns that John Mellencamp sung about a few years ago. Maybe one day I can, when I don't have these cars to deliver...Ever Forward!