Welcome to the Jungle

So there I was, driving on I-95 through South Carolina. I've got my kid in the back seat, possibly sleeping, possibly watching The Muppets, possibly contemplating an overthrow of the power structure in which he is subject to Yes Dear and myself so that he can rule the household and have his demands of a 24-hour television channel consisting of nothing but Sesame Street and Sid the Science Kid and . . . well, really that may be all he wants.  Yes Dear is sitting next to me, possibly sleeping, actually, it's very likely she's sleeping.

We're about halfway through our 360 mile trip from Wilmington, NC to Statesboro, Ga. Coincidentally, we're also about halfway through South Carolina, roughly 100 miles into the state. It's about this time I wished I had a book on CD, but apparently listening to a book while riding with your wife is frowned upon. It turns out you're supposed to talk about things on trips, or at least have that option available to you, rather than requiring her to be be quiet while you listen to a story.

So I'm riding down the road and there, for some reason, on my right is a sign for a South Carolina Welcome Center. Mind you, I've already been in the state for about 100 miles (there's 200 miles of Interstate 95 in South Carolina.) I've passed this particular welcome center a number of times in the past 10 months and can't, for the life of me, figure out why it's there. A rest stop, I understand, but why are you welcoming me after I'm halfway through your state?

Granted, this is the same state that is led by a governor who told his Argentinian mistress that she was his soul mate and had his aides tell the press he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was actually getting some Argentinian tail. Obviously the decision makers are not the best and brightest (though to be fair, they may be the best and brightest of South Carolina.) Maybe it's just my lack of traveling, but don't most states have their welcome centers, you know, near their border? It seems odd to me that you would welcome me at the very point where I stop traveling into your state and start the process of leaving your state.

(Quick aside: Welcome to my blog)

According to its website, "The Santee Welcome Center is strategically located Southbound on I-95." It's convenient in that if you missed the one 100 miles back, you can stop here. Are there people who have been driving for 90 minutes who think to themselves, 'You know, we were just going to pass through South Carolina, but now that we're here, let's see what they have to offer.' (Quick note: go east to Charleston or northeast to Myrtle Beach. There, now you know what they have to offer.)