A freeway is the way to get to the experience. It's not supposed to be part of the experience. You go on the freeway to get to a movie, a concert, a museum, a restaurant. You get on at the appropriate entrance and off at the appropriate exit, hopefully with a minimum of muss and fuss in-between. When a freeway becomes part of the experience, it's because you are stuck in traffic.
Freeways tend to be flat and impersonal.
No hairpin turns, no hills, no surprises. They tend to all look alike, no matter what part of the country you are in, except perhaps for the palm trees and graffiti which give our freeways a certain local character. A highway, on the other hand, is an experience unto itself. On highways, the scenery is always shifting and changing. You can pull off to the side of the road, if you want.