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Does anyone else notice their mood and/or the surrounding vibe change very quickly when crossing a state line, like during road-tripping or simply driving? Like, you go past a "Welcome to [State Name]" sign, and you feel something inexplicably change. You suddenly either perk up or get more listless, and it happens only when you cross a state line.
It was especially strong for me last year, when that spiky thing was all the rage in Illinois, but not so much in Wisconsin and Indiana. When I drove to Hammond, IN to get a haircut and a quick restaurant meal, I found myself getting happier hard and fast the second I crossed the Indiana border. And the opposite when going back to Illinois.
But even before that spiky thing even existed, I also noticed a sudden change in mood and feel when going across state lines. Maybe it was because it gave me a feeling that I was on a real trip, rather than a banal commute or an errand. Interestingly, when driving to Starved Rock in downstate Illinois, where there are no border crossings, it still had a somewhat of a "commute to a recreational place" feel, rather than a "trip".
Everytime I drive into california from Arizona, i get a really distorted feeling i cant describe. Once the desert rises and turns into mountains, it feels like the twilight zone. Not a fan of it.
But even before that spiky thing even existed, I also noticed a sudden change in mood and feel when going across state lines. Maybe it was because it gave me a feeling that I was on a real trip, rather than a banal commute or an errand. Interestingly, when driving to Starved Rock in downstate Illinois, where there are no border crossings, it still had a somewhat of a "commute to a recreational place" feel, rather than a "trip".
Yeah I definitely know what you mean. Every time I cross the Columbia River from OR into WA, I feel like "oh great, back to the state where I work, where all my obligations and daily routines are." In OR I feel like I can relax more.
Long Beach, WA is 3 hours away from here, same as Portland, but it feels a lot closer.
Yeah I definitely know what you mean. Every time I cross the Columbia River from OR into WA, I feel like "oh great, back to the state where I work, where all my obligations and daily routines are." In OR I feel like I can relax more.
Long Beach, WA is 3 hours away from here, same as Portland, but it feels a lot closer.
Interesting! I guess I'm not the only one. Especially considering that the terrain at most state borders is exactly the same on both sides. The borders are usually set by land features in eastern states, and by parallels and meridians in western states, nothing metaphysical. And yet, people still feel a psychological effect while crossing a state border.
Crossing into Vermont, I feel like my blood pressure immediately drops. The roads improve, there's less trash, and billboards are illegal. People tend to be more courteous drivers and are in less of a hurry.
Crossing from Vermont to Canada is pretty dramatic.
Crossing from Tennessee to Arkansas on I-40. Can't describe it without going into a ton of detail, but you can tell you're sort of crossing from one part of the country to the other, despite both sides of the area around Memphis being in the South and the Mississippi Delta. I've done that drive a million times and I always feel like I'm getting close to the West as soon as I cross the Mississippi River, even if I'm still a ways off.
I was in New England a couple years ago and in New Hampshire it was a beautiful sunny day, but right as we crossed into Maine there was a very thick fog. It reminded me some of Stephen King’s ‘The Mist’. I don’t mean it sort of became foggy a few miles into Maine, this was literally at the boarder and it stayed foggy the whole time we were there. It may have just been a fluke, but ever since it has stuck with me as the most dramatic change crossing into another state.
I always have an uplifting feeling when I see the sign that says Maine - the way life should be on my last trip when I saw the sign I looked at the clock in my car and it said 2:07, I took it as a sign from God.
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