NEAR WILSON, N.C. — Driving down Interstate 95 south of Washington D.C. and especially Richmond, Va. isn’t the most scenic ride.* The land is generally flat, the road barely curves, every interchange looks the same and there are no sizable towns. I was not relishing the North Carolina portion of our drive to the South Carolina’s Grand Strand.

I was pleasantly surprised upon entering North Carolina from Virginia that there were plentiful wildflowers on the sides of I-95 and in the median. I had never noticed them before, so I don’t know if they are new or just weren’t blooming when I had passed. Those many clusters of flowers, often different colors than the previous patch, broke up the monotony of the drive. In addition to being pretty those wildflowers may have helped me and other drivers from getting to bored and the problems that come with it while driving a car.

I do not know how extensive the wildflower program is on North Carolina highways since we only strayed from I-95 once. The photograph above is actually from that occasion, when we got off on I-795, a new spur route of I-95 signed along US 264 and old US 117, to eat at Parker’s Restaurant. My dad took that photo from the passenger seat.

*It isn’t the most scenic highway north of D.C. either, but has more landmarks, cities every 100 miles or so, major river crossings and even hills.

Signs: Shields Up!