Tripping....home

Had the road trip from hell my second full day on the road from Florida...left Danville, Ky., where I stayed overnight with my sister, Cyn. Had a great visit and we went to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in town. Besides the food serving's being delicious, inexpensive and enormous, I was able to speak Spanish which I miss terribly. Sadly, I was unable to connect in person with my friend, Sandy, with whom I worked in Tegucigalpa. Needed to be coming through on a weekend because he couldn't get off work. Talked with him on the phone though...in English and Spanish. His being in the USA, working, and now, being engaged to an American he met in Tegus is helping his English. Must get down to try to see him soon.

The trip from hell? Well, I drove in a monsoon for over four hours in traffic that was debilitating...as in, I was squnching (yes, a new word!) my sphincter tightly and white knuckling the wheel as I was passed by semi-trucks going 75 mph on both sides and all around. They apparently did not understand that smaller vehicles might be inundated by spray, rain and fog, causing difficult and dangerous driving conditions. OR they may have wanted to notice the butt load of accidents all along I-75 which they passed without moving over per the law. Traffic slow downs outside of Cinci and Dayton took time, but the real nutcruncher was on I-75 just short of Saginaw, Michigan. I rounded a corner and all six lanes were stopped ahead quite a ways from where I was at the moment.....what caught my attention, in the rain, was that while the cars were lined up and stopped, they were off completely. Off meaning there were no tail lights shining except for those approaching the miles of stopped cars. These cars were sitting and waiting and obviously were not moving even at a snail's pace.

I immediately pulled over to the right shoulder and decided to back down the shoulder, (YES on I-75) because I had just passed the exit for M-81, the road that cuts through Caro, about 30 miles from our cottage. So, with flashers flashing, and with traffic rounding the corner, approaching at 70 miles an hour, I backed up about a city block's length. I was praying...outloud, I might add, that no one would hit me because I really had people to see, doggies to pet and other things on my mind other than dying. I also was very concerned that some cop might approach and I was pretty sure there must be some law about backing down the interstate. I was guessing. Actually, my key motivation for backing up was that I had to pee like a race horse and couldn't sit and wait for whatever.

So, I managed the backing up with not too many one finger salutes being thrown my way and got around the poles blocking quick egress onto the off ramp, which was being used by those who also were alert and wanted off I-75 THAT minute. I loosened up the sphincter, stopped and did my business and was promptly called by my neighbor, Kathy, who wondered if I was home and could I let out China, their dog. I told her where I was and she asked if I had gotten caught up in the I-75 semi-truck's explosion? Apparently, earlier in the morning, about 7 hours before I came through, there was a huge fire and explosion and that is why the traffic was dead stopped. NO way I could have sat there waiting that long with no porta potties! On the news, it was mentioned that people actually left their cars to go get food and drinks because of the severity of the damage and the inability to remove it all. Exciting and I missed it all but found a way to add some interesting experience to my wanderings.