A Drive...

Turn down, leave the the bright lights of the town behind.  So many lights, so bright here you wouldn't even need your headlights to drive at night.  Make another turn, and again, til I get to a road I know well...innocuous name in and of itself, but I know from experience that this one has many turns, and leads to more like it.  Eventually it turns into another road that leads back to one of the main roads through the county. 
There's cars here and there...houses scattered about.  Time to turn the music off.  Looking up there are no lights...unless you count the stars in the sky.
Another quick turn then back onto another back road...down hills, around curves...through S-turns and down this road with no shoulder.  Turn onto another road that'll take you clear to the west side of the county.  Come up a hill...that farm over there is where we went cow tipping once.  Right past it is where there was a fatal accident...only the infant survived.  Say a prayer as that feeling hits me.  Around a turn and up a hill...make a turn then a quick left...yeah, Bumpy Oak Road.  Pass through an area known as Pomonkey...it's not a town, but there's a place there with a giant satellite dish that if you're brave (dumb) enough to climb to the top you can see for miles...even see our Nation's Capital on a clear night.  Down through the back road, windows down...a little smirk as a smell crosses my nose and I think "skunk."  Cross the railroad tracks, up the hill...nothing but woods and field.  Cross a creek...hell, cross a dozen creeks before you hit the next intersection...
When given the choice of north or south...head south...
On to the road known as Chicamuxen Road.  Runs right down the west-southwest side of the county, along the Potomac.  Can't see it due to the forest and farms.  Lots of roads and places around here with Native American names...roads named after family farms, randomness...even pass a sign that says "FD Water Supply"...no hydrants for miles.
Through areas known as Pisgah...Marbury...Rison...pass the place where they dispose of warfare...not seeing another soul for miles...unless you count the deer and occasional raccoon.  Pass a state park...pass a sign that says :Shoulder Ends."  Down this road that hasn't been paved in years.  Probably the only people that come down here are the people that live here and the county sheriff when need be.
Haven't seen another car for a while.  Doesn't matter though.  It's nice and quiet...only hear the sounds of my car and nature when I slow down enough to take it in.  Nice break from the sounds of the city...nice to be able to gather my thoughts and relax...thinking about everything yet sometimes nothing at all. 
Headlights light up the road right in front of me...really, right in front of me.  Looks like I'm driving into oblivion.  Put the high beams on and all of a sudden I can see the hill ahead on a straight part of the road.  On the curves...well, you can't even tell which way it's gonna turn through the curve until you crest the hill...or, you know the road...
Nanjemoy...Ironsides...nothing really around here.  There's the rescue squad and the store...where the speed limit drops from 50 to 35 and right back to 50...all in about a mile, with no warning. 
Oh yeah, Blue Dog Saloon.  If you're from Southern MD you know the legend of the Blue Dog.  Back in high school we used to drive around these parts trying to catch a glimpse of that damn blue dog,
Pass Poorhouse Road (insert Foxworthy joke here..."if directions to your house include 'turn off the paved road...'")...soon will be in Port Tobacco proper.  Where the Community Center damn near burned down years back.  Took every tanker in the county, refilling them from the rivers and creeks...yes, drafting.  And that's when Tanker 11 flipped on one of these back roads too...

Pass the road that leads to the marina where we did our water rescue training...that was a fun day on the bay :)  And the place that has the one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the states...gorgeous lil chapel with a great view of the water.
By now the road has a shoulder, the road is freshly paved, and there's a sign warning for a lower speed.  It's getting brighter, and the town lies ahead.  Seeing the first stop light for almost an hour.  Pass the one car dealership in town, the sheriff, the county jail...and the lights of the town fade behind me.  Down another road without a shoulder.  More curves, twists and turns.  Down an unlined road...surprisingly, no deer here tonight.  To a place where you don't have to worry about locking your car at night, where you have to pass through woods to see your neighbors, and when you wake up in the morning, it's quiet.  No sounds of cars, and all you see are the woods and a grassy front yard.  Would be nice as hell to see some snow though.
Perfect night for a drive like this.
A lot of people say Southern Maryland isn't country.  Sure, if all you think is Waldorf then I'd have to agree.  Take a ride down some of these roads one night and see.
G'night folks.