I did spend 5 days in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York last week. But watch what you wish for!

From the time I arrived in F Terminal of Philadelphia's Airport, till the time I returned the rental car and boarded the plane (in that dunkin' donuts coffee and soft-pretzel enduced comma...) I realized that God has a sick sense of humor.

Yes, I sat in traffic. Yes, I spilled my hot coffee on myself in the car (and down the side of the rental car door.) And, in one short month, I forgot that the speed limit signs are for decoration only. Unless you're sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, put your petal to the metal!

And, as I sat in traffic on 95 (north or south bound, is doesn't matter) and on the NJ and PA Turnpikes (North, South, East or West bound, it doesn't matter) I realized something else: Kentucky's not that much different.

I saw a trucker with a "Gitter Done" bumper sticker on I-95 in Delaware. I saw a lot of flannel and camouflage. I saw mullets. But more importantly, I saw that from sea to shining-sea (or cornfield, whatever) you can cross state lines, but what makes this place so darn special, is that regardless if it's Kentucky or New Jersey, we're not as different as we think we are. Maybe in New Jersey people are in more of a hurry to get somewhere, but that's what makes it special. And the fact that it smells like no other place on earth. Ha! LOL...Sorry...

I had the privilege of checking in to one of the nastiest Super 8 hotels on the face of the earth. Not in New Jersey, but in Maryland. And no sooner had the door closed behind me, that it opened again with me making a mad dash for the front door. Would it have been as nasty in Kentucky? Probably.

My boarding pass for the flight from Philly to Louisville had a blank next to the seat assigment. When I asked the woman at the gate why I didn't have a seat she simply explained: "the plane is overbooked." I said "No, no, no. I've had my ticket for weeks." That's when I learned that the ‘bumping of passengers' is random. And that God has a sick sense of humor.

So, as the last few passengers were rushing up the gate, red-faced and sweaty AT 5 MIN. PAST THE SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME and holding up their boarding passes like they were bribe money...I waited patiently (which is not at all in my nature). Then, with 4 of us wanting to get on the plane, she let me board. And 3 lucky passengers received free roundtrip airfares courtesy of US Airways within the continental U.S.

Now, I sincerely hope that my next trip is ‘easier'. You know? Maybe a little less traffic? Maybe a cleaner hotel room? Maybe the girl at Dunkin' Donuts will put the lid securely on the cup? Maybe a confirmed return ticket to Kentuckiana? Who knows...Pray for me people, pray for me...

Until then, I'll continue to update you on my new found appreciation for country living.