After a month of traipsing across Ohio, we drove out to Maryland yesterday. It was nice to see so many people in the Buckeye state, of course, but it was also fun to do some new things in my home state. We purposely avoided our usual go-to places in Columbus and went to new restaurants. We drove new roads that I've never really been on.  And, after driving through the woods and farms of Central Ohio, to the gently rolling hills of Eastern Ohio, to the Appalachian foothills in Pennsylvania and West Virgnia, to the ridge and valley mountains in Maryland, and to the coastal flatlands around D.C., I've determined that this part of the country really is very lovely and pleasant. It may not be as majestic or as epic as other, more photographed parts, but that doesn't mean it's not beautiful.

While driving, I had a random thought: everything we do is historic. 500 years from now, textbooks will say things like "During the 21st century, families did things called 'road trips'." Or, "people stopped at things called gas stations because they had to drive through the mountains instead of teleporting from one place to the other. More relevantly, perhaps, they might say something like "Eastern countries such as China and South Korea saw the importance of teaching their people English, and recruited English-speakers by the thousands to teach in their countries." It puts things in perspective, and inspires me to not sit on my butt in the house and do nothing. I guess we'll just have to come back in 500 years and see what they say about the things we do and don't think about.