After a winter of blizzards and icy roads, traveling weather has improved greatly in the last few weeks. The arrival of sunny days and calm winds coincided with a speaking engagement in Minneapolis one week and a spring break trip to Morgantown, West Virginia the next. Though the destinations were widely different, the aftermath of winter’s fierceness left an undeniable, common danger in both places.
Potholes.
Now, I’m not talking about small, avoidable blips in the concrete. I’m talking about across-the-road, swallow-the-front-axle, did-I-miss-the-earthquake gaps. The Minneapolis and Morgantown we traversed make our little gravel road, complete with teeth-rattling ridges and washed out edges, feel like a walk in the park.
Though I’m an Iowan, eager to refute the innumerable jokes Minnesotans tell about my home state, the pothole prize doesn’t go to Minnesota. It goes to West Virginia, a state with potholes so frequent and deep they make a short drive to the grocery store a crash dummy obstacle course.
For those planning a trip to Morgantown in the near future, consider the following options. Either postpone it until the road repair crews have time to do their thing or get a four-wheel drive with monster tires. Or change your plans and go to Minnesota instead.
If you choose option three, give me a call before you head out? I have a bucketload of Minnesota jokes to send with you. Scatter them with abandon, and they’ll turn your trip into an adventure that will leave you yearning for a pothole to swallow you and your car whole. I promise!
