In DC . . . for now

Well, we've left Raleigh behind for a long weekend with Mitch. We're in DC (without my camera...grrrr..) and will hang out here today, then head up to NJ this afternoon or evening. It's so good to be together again. I hate us being spread out all over the place!

As I was driving up yesterday, I noticed some odd things, listed here in no particular order:

There is only one McDonald's between our house and the Virginia border. Why is this?

Some people put odd things on the back of their vehicles. For example, a dump truck we passed with the slogan "How do you like me now?" emblazoned on the back. WTF? That's almost as bad as the RV we saw driving out West with "Intruder" painted proudly across the back door. Hmm....

Is the Ni River in southern Virginia guarded by knights?

Am I the only one who's mysteriously driven to stop at the same places on road trips, even when i don't intend it? I have found that, no matter what time of day it is, I tend to stop at Exit 121 in VA, the exit trying to lure drivers to the Stonewall Jackson Shrine (which, if you ever need to know, is open daily and 5 miles to the right when you exit off of I-95 north). This is just odd. I can be driving early in the day, at noon, or late, yet each time I will need to stop for a drink, gas, or whatever just as I reach this exit. Other exits I'm drawn to for reasons unknown are for the Strawberry Plains Pike outside of Knoxville, TN, and the McDonald's in Lonoke, AR and Tucumcari, NM (all of these off of I-40).