Today I ventured out to the library as schools were being let out. And I was struck by this new world I live in. I came from a part of the country, where every student, right up through high school is viewed as Helen Keller, utterly incapable of hearing or sight. School zones are taken very seriously and you'll get a ticket if you go 21 mph as you pass through one.
Today, I was nearly pushed off the road and was passed as I slowed down to obey the flashing posted 25 mph sign. I never got below 30.
Our public library closed for Good Friday. Mike had the day off from work. Western Washington is a place where the atheists sued to have their own holiday display at Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa.
Most Sundays we drive 88 miles one way to church. Crazy, I know. But we do it in 1 hr 20 minutes. I just mapped that distance. It is the same distance as it was from our Olympia, WA house to my aunt's house in Everett. We never made it there in less than 1 hr, 50 minutes. Sadly, the population has diminished in my new state; the upside is that there are 3 and 4 lane freeways with very little traffic. Our local freeway that goes through our town just raised the speed limit to 70. And there are minimum speed signs posted too.
It snowed this week. And last week. And it is April. This, I'm told is unusual. But it does snow here. Lots. I love it.
I don't love the roadkill. Apparently, this is where Michigan attempts to make cuts from its diminishing population and lost revenue. I have lived a lot of places where roadkill is prevalent; but eventually it gets removed off the side of the road. Not here. Deer decomposing in the corn fields raises all sorts of questions for me. Not fun.
There is a lot I loved about western Washington. And there is a lot I love about Michigan. I really love that I don't have to go 20 mph in school zones.
2 comments:
Loved this post of differences. The one thing I remember about my visits to Michigan is how utterly flat it is.
I thought Kevin was crazy for driving an hour to church when we lived in VA. :) Glad you guys are settling in well. You are so right that there are pros and cons about everywhere you live.
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