Bug Guts and Signs

The above picture is very familiar to many of you. It’s a sign warning of a deer crossing the road. It’s natural to see this when traveling our vast highways across America. On our way back traveling along Hwy 97, we’ve seen many a sign. This was just one of them. What I thought interesting was when the deer crossing sign was accompanied by a little sign underneath, “next 4 miles.” I wondered how the deer knew that they could only cross for the next 4 miles. What happened if they should cross at 4.2 miles? Was there deer police patrolling the boarders after the 4 mile mark? You spend that much time in a car and you mind just goes off on tangents. But that was not the only sign I’ve seen along the highway. We traveled through a forest and Tom saw a bear crossing sign with little baby bears like the one below.
My favorite sign was the cow crossing sign. We were traveling through a forest and there was a warning that a cow could appear. After about the third sign I said something. I started to mock the cow signs. Just as I finished mocking the signs in the corner of my eye on the opposite side of the road I saw a pasture with…you guessed it – cows. I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t see a house or anything else, just the cows. I laughed my butt off. Maybe I was tired, I don’t know, but I had to laugh at myself.
Tom and I stopped at the, “Olive Pit.” You couldn't miss it. There were signs everywhere directing you to it for miles. It was a nice store that stuffed a green olive with every type of stuffing you can think of. The best part was the samples. We walked out with olives we didn’t really need, but they were so good we couldn’t resist. (See the Olive Pit pictured below.)
On the way to California I could not believe the amount of bug guts on the windshield. You expect that on long trips, but this was excessive. It was like glue and it wouldn’t come off easily at all.

WARNING!!! The pictures below are not for the squeamish.
What really got to me was that on the way there an entire bug got caught under the windshield wiper. (Pictured below)
Okay, in all my years of driving and we drove cross country from WV to WA state and not once did an entire bug get stuck in the wiper blade that was not moving at the time. On the way back it happened again. (Pictured below. You can see the wings if you dare to look closely enough.) So imagine you are a bug on a nice leisurely ride flying around in the country when all of sudden an invisible wall comes up and . . . splat! . . . your guts are all over someone’s windshield. I guess the bugs’ justice is that it’s almost impossible to get their guts off completely with wiper fluid.

So that was my California road trip with my honey. I had the best time ever. I got to see my son, eat an In and Out burger, go to Hollywood, stayed in some really bad hotels and one good one and spent lots of quality time with the man of my dreams. Life is good. I would do it all over again bug guts and all.

© Nadine Z. 2007