Taking backroads

Since our middle son, Harris, began matriculating at Mercer University in our old stomping grounds of Macon, Ga., Carla and I have made several pilgrimages back to the scene of our courtship, marriage and early days as a family.

Last Saturday, we made such a trip in the spring sunshine, enjoying a leisurely drive from Lilburn to Macon. It did not serve up the typical dose of adrenaline and cortisol. I didn’t miss the stress and anxiety. I guess I am now officially “taking the backroads” years old.

What we have discovered in the past two years is probably more accurately described as a re-discovery. When we lived in Macon and would drive to Sandersville to visit Carla’s parents, there were no interstates connecting the two Middle Georgia cities, despite years of a promised “Fall Line Freeway” from Macon to Augusta. We had to take backroads, and no matter if we went through Gray or Milledgeville or around both, it took about the same amount of time.

I’m sure there were trips when we were in a hurry or after the kids came along, a diaper change or crying from boredom may have made us anxious to arrive, but those drives were almost always pleasant. As long as you didn’t have to drive it in the dark and dodge the deer, it was nice.

But then we moved to the Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area (AKA traffic jam USA) in 2003, and eight lanes across one way suddenly became our new normal. Gigantic interstates and clogged connectors became our driving experience, and we defaulted to the interstate to get to Sandersville. 

In recent years, Carla has had a difficult time on the interstate. She had a traumatic panic attack on the north end of I-285. If there is any stretch of road in America that will induce a panic attack, it is Atlanta’s perimeter highway.

Since then we have been building in extra time, changing our Google Maps settings to “avoid highways” and doing car trips differently. I am committed to efficiency and admittedly suffer from “Dad Travel Mode Syndrome” in which you have to “make good time.” But I have a growing appreciation of  the more laid back approach.

When we drive to Macon now, we talk. We listen to music, (I have a mostly country 14-hour Spotify playlist filled with ‘90s favorites). We enjoy a podcast together on a topic of mutual interest. Our obsession with Landon and Kate Bryant provided our entertainment last weekend, and not only did we get to know their story better, we could look out the window and picture the kinds of Southern places they were describing in their stories.

One of the myriad ways you can take from our house to Macon includes a good stretch on Georgia Highway 83, which is classified as one of Georgia’s “Scenic Byways.” You can get a good feel for it in the photography of Kevin D. Liles on his website. 

I grew up in Dallas-Fort Worth, and we didn’t often drive for pleasure. Big cities aren’t known as good places to go for drives. I’ve often heard Carla and Mama talk about taking Sunday drives with Daddy when she was coming up in Sandersville. I get the appeal. 

City driving is a tense, combative affair. Taking the backroads reverses the polarity of the experience. All too often in the New South, driving is “commuting.” Even in the more rural areas,  it’s about getting from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.

I’m here to tell you, it’s worth it to slow down. Take an unexplored road and unwind a little. While I don’t have the nerve to get on a motorcycle, the experience of taking the “bike” out on the weekends does make more sense to me now. I just prefer to have more vehicle around me and fewer bugs in my teeth.

Now that we’ve entered the season of sunny days and blooming trees, I highly recommend going for a drive on a backroad near you. If your fast-paced lifestyle doesn’t provide any obvious opportunities, just build in some extra time, change your navigation settings to “avoid highways” and see if that doesn’t change your attitude.

Life may be a highway, but sometimes the road less traveled provides the richer experience.

What is your favorite stretch of backroad to take when you need to unwind? Mountains? Farmland? The coast? Leave a comment below with your recommended backroad drive.