Easily Entertained

I’ve spent the last four days test driving my new van across the wide open spaces of America.  Over 1500 wide open miles. 

Most of the time when I tell people that I’m getting ready to drive across so much of the United States they react with predictable horror.  But the thing is, I don’t feel that way about it, not at all.  For one thing, I think that most of the United States is spectacularly beautiful.  (more about that later.)  And for another thing, we borrow lots of books on cd.  (Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites Books 1-3 so far!)  And lastly, I am easily entertained by what I see. 

One source of constant entertainment are town names.  Some entertain because they’re just kind of funny if you think about them.

Some because they seem to be passing some kind of judgement on the town.

Sometimes you have to wonder what the marketing man was thinking. 

(I know, we should go to West Virginia for our family vacation this year.  I’ve heard it’s both WILD and WONDERFUL!)

 

Sometimes town names don’t even seem to be real words.  Ghent?  What’s a Ghent?  And I don’t exactly want to live in a town named after a hair cut, either.

I wonder if the people who established this town felt like naming the town in Latin made them seem more cultured, somehow.

And all I can say is even though you always referred to an area by a description, there’s no reason that has to become the name of the town.

Kentucky is another place with a great slogan or motto.  It really made me want to shake off my cares and run around wild for a while. 

This is one of my favorite signs.  I look forward to seeing it every trip.  Now I live in a town with a  name that generally requires a bit of explanation.  But seriously—can you imagine telling someone you live in Salt Lick?  What were they thinking???

Russ & I always get a kick out of town names that are actually far away places.  I can’t tell you how many times we drove from Pocatello to Utah, and at some point had to make a joke about being all the way to Virginia already.  

I always like this sign too—it feels like a lovely tribute to my given name.  

 

Every now and then I see a billboard that I feel like might make a real difference in my life.

I have to wonder exactly why this experience was immortalized this way??

 

And how on earth do you even say this town name?  

Or this one?  (Yes, after I saw this sign I had to tell Russ that I’d driven much farther south than I’d originally intended.)

Here’s another town I’m happy not to live in.   I always have to spell my street for people.  Not because the words are hard to spell, but just because people can never believe it’s really the name of a street.  But really—you’d have to spell Knob Noster for everyone.  That’s “Knob” with a KN, and Noster with an N.  (What on earth is a Knob Noster???)

 

Now this did make me wonder.  What is Aullville.  Does it just signify completeness, or totality?  And would it’s complement be Noneville, or Nunville??? 

Here’s another mouthful.  Kind of rolls off the tongue, though.

 

I saw this one this morning in Kansas City and I was baffled.  What on earth kind of street is a Trfwy?  I’ve seen pkwys, and exprswys, but a trfwy?

 

Here’s another good road name.  I think the developer thought he was having a Beach Boy’s moment but  just couldn’t spit it out quite right.  You don’t really think he meant Snokomo, do you?

Here’s another confused place.  Halfway between Latin and Mexico.

Now I always love words that just roll off the tongue well.  One of my favorite words is Bethesda—it just makes me happy to say it.  I’m thinking I might have to add Wamego, too.  Those lucky Kansans.  (Kansians?  Kansasians??)

 

And this one is even better.  It might almost be worth living in Kansas to be able to tell people you live in Ogallah.  That has all sorts of great sounds in it!

 

Do you think that the people who live here know how to say the town name?  Is it LAY-ah-tee?  Or LAY-oh-shee? 

This sign just made me want to do a little Mexican hat dance.  I wonder if the people run around town saying “Andale!!”

And my last sign for you…Bovina.  Please notice that there were no services available in Bovina.  And that’s because no one can bear to live in a place called Bovina, so they’ve all gone somewhere else.

 

Maybe to Germany…