Travel Theme: Roads

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.

--JRR Tolkein, The Fellowship of the Ring

Ailsa's travel theme this week at Where's My Backpack? is...roads!  So let's get to it, shall we?Welcome to Boston's North End.  I took this photograph one beautiful summer night, and the full moon shining over the road was irresistible.  Whenever I look at this picture I get that happy, warm feeling that comes from stuffing myself silly with a delicious Italian meal, and sharing a bottle of wine and excellent company.  The scenery certainly helps.  I also covet that...is that a rooftop patio?  With the string of lights?  Upper left?  Swoon.Rome has been around for a long, long time.  The buildings are built on roads that have been around for a long, long time.  That weren't initially conceived to accommodate auto traffic and parking.  So they are narrow narrow narrow.  If I lived there I couldn't imagine getting anything bigger than a Vespa.  When I was planning my trip, a friend who had already been to Rome gave me one piece of advice I found invaluable: Stay.  On.  The sidewalk.  I would occasionally feel like I was in a live-action game of Frogger.   (That's right, I'm going old-school.)  But you know, that's part of the character of the city and it was awesome.This was the scene that greeted me at the entrance to the New Jersey Turnpike off the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Roads can get you where you want to go, and can also be a giant obstacle.  It was smooth sailing up until we got here.  And while I do generally defend my home state, there's not much you can say in defense of this.  I don't think my fellow travelers were as excited to see this backup as I was, though, since I was certainly the only one hanging out the car window with a camera in her hand.  I'm not sure of the commentary that's supposed to be provided by the flag; should this make me feel patriotic, or something?  I'd feel better if they hung a big sign that said, "Sorry!  We'll get this mess cleaned up ASAP."And this sylvan stretch of road goes through the hills of central Pennsylvania.  Good camping out here, if you're a camper.  This is the sort of road that spurs me on to flights of fancy; while I realize you can never know what's at the other end of any road, this sort holds all kinds of potential.May the road rise up to meet you.  See you at Ailsa's!