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Aug182009

Nerves of Steel

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 11:22PM

Road Trip Day 2:

Remember the old saying "you get what you pay for?" All three of us paid for a good nights sleep but I don't think any of us got one. I thought we were being so super cool, researching it out and staying in this quaint (as in out of date) vintage 60's motel. We were excited with the massaging bed and all.

I gave a few minutes of worry that we were staying at a "motel" with the room door opening directly outside but there was a new and sturdy looking lock so I didn't say anything to my daughters and after watching CSI Miami and George Lopez we all fell asleep.

I woke up at 3 a.m. and turned off the tv my nightowl had left on. I warned myself, just go back to sleep and suprisingly I did, only to be jolted awake by a loud alarm sound. I am talking about a stunning kind of pulsating buzz that you would hear when Jason Bourne breaches security at some top secret weapons cache, along with a flashing light.

We were all totally freaked out. Could it be an air raid alarm, a fire drill? Holy shit What is it? I glanced at the clock, 5:40. Is that ungodly sound just the ancient alarm clock, like one of the first digital clocks invented. It was. The s.t.u.p.i.d vintage digital alarm clock. I shut it off. Realized the flashing light was just my computer. So I talked myself and my charges down off of the ledge.

By now, all of our hearts are pounding. I reassured my darlings all was o.k. and we really needed to go back to sleep. I lay there convincing myself, actually feeling a bit drowsy and closed my eyes and relaxed. Suddenly the noise returned. I grabbed that demon possessed clock, yanked the plug out of the wall and tossed it under the lousy massaging bed singing get behind me, Satan.

The girls did sort of drift off to sleep but there was not a chance on this earth that I would. I organized our belongings and made them get up by 7:30. We checked out and were out of there by 8 a.m. I had promised them pancakes for breakfast so we had that. I could feel my eyeballs rolling around like they were coated with sand even as I had a cup of coffee with my food. Plan was made to stop and get some stronger type of stimulant so I pulled off at the next exit where I knew there was a Starbucks and loaded up.

Less than an hour later I knew I was in trouble. It was a beautiful morning but for any of you who haven't driven on I-75 through Tennessee and then onto I-40 east, it is not a job for the faint hearted or unfocused. I am telling you it requires nerves of steel between the mountains, the curves and the semi trucks. I was so tired and so highly irritated that this was disrupting my travel schedule I thought my head might pop off.

Apologizing to my daughters, and astounding them at that, I explained we would have to pull off and I would try to take a nap and gather my wits. The first thing we came to was this deserted Hillbilly Market. The way my girls looked at me when I pulled into this gem was like I had grown another head. "I'm scared" the baby cried. So on we went around the bend and found a cool shadely spot under a tree in a Cracker Barrel. I laid down in the back seat and fell asleep, despite all the caffiene I had consumed.

I heard them debating about when to wake me up. 15 more minutes I said and drifted back off. A short time later we went on in the Cracker Barrel, used the facilities, bought two jars of cobbler filling (one peach and one blackberry) and we got our show officially on the road, having spent a little over an hour sleeping.

Luckily we didn't have a lot of miles to drive, and although I felt much more alert we were all acting crabby and contencious instead of like the fun bunch we can be. Traffic was moving and there were a lot of trucks but so far the highway was wide open and we were getting excited to be making good progress.

We made our move onto 640 East and then onto I-40 and we were on the mountain freeway now. They always take my breath away at this point of the drive . I am just a mountain person, it is in my blood. Hello curves and grade changes and hello truckers. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours.

It didn't take long until I was sandwiched inbetween a couple of big rigs, but I manned up and kept as cool as a cucumber. My helpers were getting exasperated with me because I kept giving them cues of what I wanted pictures of and they were always mashing that button about 5 seconds too late.

At least y'all are headed west. Good. I don't need 500 tons of Mack breathing down my neck or squeezing me into the cement barrier in the middle. Oh no, mama's got company behind us. Where are those signs we made?

OK now. So that's how it's going to be. I am alert, caffiene oozing out of my pores. All synapses are firing and here comes that big curve girls, get a picture of that truck warning sign...you know the steep grade change on the curve that could cause them to topple over on the curve. What do you mean you missed it?

I only got squeezed into the median once and I didn't make contact thank you very much. And that honking you did Mr Trucker, that helped me out really well. Why don't you try scaring me a few more times. Girls get those get over and back off signs out! Girls. Girls. Girls, do you hear me? I guess not because one was hiding under a blaket and the other looked to be sleeping.

This should get your juices flowing. TUNNEL! Hooonnnkkkk. Wooo Hooo. The baby refuses to come out from under the blanket. But that was fun. My teenager is rolling her eyes. That's a good sign and so is this, our blessed Exit!

Hello Candler exit, we are so so glad to see you. If we weren't all so cranky we would get out and dance around that sign. I look at the clock, I am running so behind I feel shamed. Whatever, we are here safe and sound so we head off the exit and in a few short turns we are headed up the mountain that my people are from. It's also a narrow winding road but every turn is familiar and in 7 short minutes we have reached destination Virgil.

The only bad side to this is I have to scoot up that steep narrow drive and tell him to hop in becasue we need to head back down the mountain to pick up Princess #1 in 20 minutes from the airport. At least with a very relieved gramps in the car we are all much more cheerful and less likely to tear each other hair out.

The Mayor |

7 Comments |

tagged

North Carolina,

road tripping,

the south

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Reader Comments (7)

When I was 17, my family took a camping trip. We were driving through the night to get where we were going. Dad got tired and asked me to spell him, so sis and I took over the front seat and Dad and Mom stretched out in the back.

No one seemed to realize that the Continental Divide was coming up. I drove through it, at 17, in the pitch black, with a trailer on the back.

Never been so scared, before or since. But there wasn't anywhere to turn off and wake up Dad, so I just did it.

Unless you've been through a mountain pass, with the semis alternatingly roaring past you and looking like they're going to fall back down at you, you really have no idea how terrifying it is.

August 20, 2009 |

The Mother

You took Matt damon with you to North Carolina? You GO, Girl!

August 20, 2009 |

middle-aged-woman

We are truly blessed in one regard in Michigan, there is no cross- state traffic so we get way less semi traffic. Of course it only takes one. Husband was driving recently on I-75 and was nearly wun into to the median by a semi driver TEXTING!

And our esteemed leaders would love for all of us to be in tiny, unsafe cars (but with good gas mileage!). Not them though. They get to drive around in big black SUVs. Of course.

Glad you pulled off and took a nap! Good girl!

I had an alarm clock go off at 4:30am in a hotel room and ever since then ALWAYS check to make sure the alarm clock is off! Live and learn.

Have a great time! Didn't know Princess #1 was coming too! Enjoy the mountains!!!

August 20, 2009 |

Kathy Radom

Nerves of steel? I'd say so! Sandwiched in between macks on those curves -- knowing they have no where to go if their brakes fail, but into you? Bravo, Mayor, for not turning into a nervous wreck (no pun intended).

Say, did you ever figure out the weird noise at the hotel? Was it the massage bed mafunctioning, maybe?

Congrats on reaching your destination. You must be very close to where I was just a few weeks ago. So beautiful. Mmmm.

August 24, 2009 |

The Lawyer Mom

i know exactly the route you're talking about. we live in nc and when we drive (yes, we're crazy) to oklahoma to visit the fil we go through ashville, tennessee (the longest state in the world it seems), etc. those mountain passes are insane. but, i've from wv so i'm used to it. i actually like those drives, the trucks, not so much.

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