STUDENT DRIVER 9: The Road Less Travelled

In my home state of Minnesota there are only two seasons: winter and road construction. Road construction season coincides however with another seasonal Minnesota pastime—cabin fever! Every Friday afternoon during the warm months you’ll find a mass exodus of cars heading north for the weekend. The irony of it all is that in order to escape the mad rush of city life, one must endure yet another hectic, hair-pulling rush hour—the cabin rush.

There is one way to avoid this hassle—if you can swing it with your boss at work. You can take a day off and head up Friday morning. There is nothing better than leaving early on Friday and cruising freely past the flood of work-bound traffic as you head in the opposite direction toward the freedom of the north country. The heavy southbound traffic is crawling reluctantly toward the office to face the stress of another day’s madness. On the other side of the divider, a few happy campers drive leisurely toward the northern lake country for fun and relaxation. The point is this: It is not always best to be going with the flow of traffic. The good life may be found along the road less traveled!