Grandpa Little Shortcut

I am not sure if it is all people in Ohio or just my family,  but if you talk to someone in my family and tell them you are driving somewhere they will always ask- Oh, which way are you going.  When you  reply, they will either tell you 10 places that you should stop along the way on your drive, or they will tell you three other ways to go.  It is really great (not) when you have two people in the room who have different opinions on the best way.  They start arguing for why their way is best. When an hour later you finally decide which way is best, they confuse you even more by giving you the directions in North, South, East and West instead of Left, Right and Straight.  I am pretty good at telling directions with the location of the sun, but in Ohio you only see the sun about one half of the year.  This is why we all had the little bubble compass thing that sat on the dash.  You also learned that if you wanted to get somewhere the fastest way you would not ask either of my grandfathers for directions.

Grandpa Gallagher did not try to hide the fact that he preferred taking the scenic route.  One time it took him and my grandmother 3 days to get to Bristol.  Typically 8 hours even driving slow.  I am pretty sure that trip caused a few burn marks on the seat. 

Grandpa Little was another story.   He was famous for his shortcuts.  We would get in the car and he would say - we could go "x" way, but I know a shortcut.  To most people taking a shortcut means that you will arrive at your destination in the shortest amount of time.  I am pretty sure Bill Little had a built in GPS that avoided Interstates.  Grandpa was a salesman for Teledyne Steel and drove all over his territory so he knew the roads and he always had a slew of maps in the glove compartment.  He knew the good diners.  He knew where the gas stations would be.  He knew the pretty drives.  We started to call the scenic route to any location the "Grandpa Little Shortcut".

While there are times that I want to get someplace the fastest way possible, I do find myself taking the Grandpa Little shortcut. As a kid my favorite GLS was when we got on the Turnpike at exit 11, one exit up from our normal exit.  That GLS usually involved a stop at Dairy Queen.  I love driving on Lake Road when I am in Ohio when going into Cleveland.  I like to drive down State Street in Bristol at night to see the sign, even when it is out of my way.  My husband actually prefers the GLS for most drives.  We always take the scenic route on vacations. When we went to Puerto Rico we rented a car and drove to many places that most tourists do not see.  Where I live now in rural Southwest Virginia is filled with GLS's.  Although many times the scenic route is the only way to get there. Just today I drove to a small town about 25 miles away for a birthday party. The one block downtown was very quaint.  The snow on the mountains was breathtaking.  Caroline was amazed by the icicles coming out of the sides of the mountains.  She exclaimed "That is just beautiful".  My kids didn't know my Grandpa Little, but I hope they inherit his love of "shortcuts".