TOD: Back in college, my friend Bill and I ended up in Chicago (about seven hours from school) after a night in which we didn't get quite enough to drink. It was near Christmas and as we left the city at the end of the next day, snow flakes began to fall, which was a great sight from the rear-view mirror.
We planned a return trip the following Christmas with another friend in tow, and it, too, was quite memorable.
The following year, however, Bill, two women he was sleeping with and I ended up in the Smokey Mountains around Gatlinburg. When we went down one hill, the brakes gave out on the car. I was not amused, but we were able to pull to a stop at a garage. That was back in the days before every college student had two or three credit cards, and we were able to scrounge together enough money among the four of us to pay for the brake work. We didn't have enough money to get any food on the way back, however ...
Since then, I have loved taking spontaneous trips here and there in Texas. It's so huge, you can drive wherever and never visit the same place twice.
