Normally at 11:30am on a Thursday morning, I would be sitting behind my desk at the Taxi & Limousine Commission answering press inquiries, clipping taxi-related articles, and solving the unsolvable problems of the day - but instead - I am on an Express Shuttle Bus traveling down Georgia's Interstate 75 North en route to Chattanooga, Tennessee - and I'm loving it.

Considering the fact that the two flights it took to get me here had more turbulence than the current race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, I am happy to be safely on the ground for the third leg of my journey to get to Chattanooga - and get to Summer.

Whenever I drive along the highways and bi-ways of this great nation, I marvel at all that America has to offer. From majestic cities with ominous skylines, to large mountain ranges that seem to never end and travel with you as you drive - to people you just met that are as nice to you as if you were their neighbor - it is impossible to truly experience America without visiting its many beautiful states.

This is my first time in Georgia. I have driven through it on a few occasions and even spent a night at a hotel in Darien, Georgia in late 2000 the last time I drove to Florida. Now, I get to drive through the state to an actual destination - Chickamauga. And besides staying there - I am visiting someone very special to me who will introduce me to her friends and family - giving me a true taste of life in Georgia.

It is no secret that coming from a City like New York - anyplace else would be considered small in comparison. Therefore, it is no secret that coming to a town like Chickamauga would be a far cry from the madness that is life in "The Big Apple" - and the perfect way to begin my first vacation of a year that I know will truly be a special one. After enduring the daily grind of life in the "big City" - one needs to leave it behind once in a while and escape to smaller, more laid back environments where you get a wave from a fellow driver rather than the finger. Where pick-up trucks and family wagons line the roadways instead of buses and taxis - and most importantly - a place where my phone won't ring, my "furry, four legged alarm clock" won't go off - and where I can truly feel free and away from everyone, everything - and every responsibility.

So despite the fact that I am only seven hours into my vacation, and those hours consisted only of travel on two planes and a shuttle bus - I can still say that I am already having a great time - because the scenery is beautiful, a special person awaits my arrival in about one hour - and the only place people know I am is, "somewhere in the South."

Man, do I love being on vacation.