Life is a highway, Part 2

Courtesy of the NPA

Besides Black-Black alertness aids, good 'ol coffee is a performance multiplier during these long drives. The downside is sipping java does impose extra visits to the rest room at the roadside service areas. At one of these inevitable breaks, I came across a manga poster (above) from the National Police Agency of Japan. It was placed right above the urinals in the men's restrooms. Captive audience, right? The poster presents warnings that it's against the law to drive recklessly and the legal consequences of road rage. As a public service announcement, it's a smart way to get into the heads of male drivers and coax them to not be flaming a**holes and to drive responsibly.

The Great Middle of the Journey
We approached Nagoya via a new section of the Shin-Tomei expressway. By then, the ladies were asleep and I was motorvating solo. We drove through a new, very long tunnel with green-colored light rings projected onto the tunnel walls.

 

These green rings seemed to move forward along the wall surface. Their pukey-looking shade of green reminded me of the slime monster in the first Ghostbusters movie.

 

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

The wall rings' forward motion practically prompts you to drive faster than the speed limit AND have a bowel movement. Perhaps the Big Idea behind these moving rings is to keep drivers awake, or engaged enough to stay in one lane, or to maintain traffic flow with green signaling no traffic jam in the tunnel? None of these change my notion this is the most dazzling display of wasted taxpayer yen I've encountered in quite some time.

I drove on. It's always a good idea to stop for a snooze when everyone else is sleeping and solo head bobs start happening to you despite the kickass music. So, after passing Kobe at about 0400 in the dead of night, I pulled over into the Miki Town service area. I soon joined hundreds of other nappers doing the same recuperative snooze in their car seats with air conditioning running. Remember, it's still over 28-30 degrees and oh-so humid even at the witching hour. Hearing nothing but car engines in the dark deep of night – no people talking, very few people moving about -- is a bit creepy.

I bagged some quality shuteye and kept going. I snapped a few photos of the Rising Daughters all cute and curled up in the back seats. It reminded me of the little girls they were only a few years ago. After merging with the Sanyo Expressway, the vehicle traffic is more manageable and the road space feels wider. Naomi woke up, and we talked about how it somehow felt different because we'd passed through the major cities and were nearly at her folks' home. Fewer cars and trucks, fewer fancy tunnels and light contraptions. 

She snapped a photo of the sunrise in our rearview mirror. It's humbling to see the sun rising and the moon disappearing within the same panorama of sky framing the road ahead.

After scanning this rapturous view, my co-pilot wife again nodded off while listening to music on her iPhone. I was pondering the universe underscored by the thrum of the car engine. Then one of my daughters ripped out a loud and proud -- but nontoxic -- righteous fart that made me laugh aloud. Happy endorphins flowed and I was giggling--back in the McMurphy zany zone.

Arrival rituals
As we drew closer to Hiroshima, I planned our schedule so we wouldn't arrive too early at Naomi's parents' place. We did not want to obligate our wonderful hosts to feed and welcome us at an absurdly early hour. So, I slowed down and we exited the expressway near a Joyfull family restaurant. They offer the best value of the casual family restaurants here and are easy to find in southern Japan. After nine hours in a car together a Joyfull "morning course" and refreshing drinks are crucial to raise morale. It's long been a tradition for these trips. And Joyfull rarely disappoints, priming us for arrival and to signal the start of our visit.

Every one of these long drives is a catharsis. It's about focus, endurance and fun for me. It doesn't matter if it's two wheels or four, I delight in the freedom of movement and the rituals of the voyage, and I always have.

"The pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to.” 

 - Alain de Botton

###