Day 110

On the 10-hour drive home today, I had the opportunity to do some thinking and reflection on what I had seen and done over the last few days. 

The core of the trip, of course, was a celebration of 15 years of marraige. And celebrate we did, eating and drinking, talking, and...in general doing things we usually don't have ( or maybe more accurately make) time for.

But as I looked through pictures on my phone as we drove through the mountains, I realized there was another theme to our trip. Throughout the entire trip, we were exposed to amazing man-made creations that were invented and brought to life in order to live and prosper in this country. 

Many of these things we take for granted every day. Like the highway. How many of us drive on a highway every day? I do. But driving on highways for hours on end gave me a different perspective of the vast process and undertaking it must have been to plan and carry out our highway system. 

Like mountains. I mean, before highways, I really can't imagine how people and things got from one side to another! There were 2 mountains so big that we actually built tunnels through the mountain. Can you imagine what kind of planning and manpower went into that? 

Along much of the trip, I could look to the side of the road and see what looked like a wall of stone. Upon closer inspection, you can see vertical lines in the wall. This is where dynamite was dropped into holes that were drilled into the actual mountain, then detonated to make a passageway for the highway. Wow.

My mother, grandfather, and 4 of my uncles are engineers, so I guess there is a part of me that is naturally drawn to such wonders. I saw bridges over land and sea- huge ones that carry thousands of people, let alone pounds, every day. Ships that carry airplanes or containers from one continent to another, and the ports that build and manage these water-monsters. Farms, both by land and sea, that grow food, livestock, and materials in huge quantities and get shipped on the afore-mentioned ships or   Highways. 

So today's pic celebrates man's ability to adapt and follow through, imagine, plan, and build. I can't even get my husband to finish the front sidewalk he busted up a month ago. Thank goodness our forefathers had more gumption :).