Tammi's World

I'm taking it personally

I made it. I'm here, safely at my Mama's house finally. I couldn't get on line to let you know I made it until now, so I apologize to those that were wondering.

It took a total of 29 hours. Most of that done on the 2nd day.

I did get a chance to talk briefly with blogbro Johnny_Oh. I was so dissapointed that we didn't get a chance to get together. I may make a drive up there just to spend a Saturday some time. So watch out Johnny!!!! Heeerrrrreeesssss Tammi!!!

As you know I got a late start on Tuesday. Drove the 8 hours to Atlanta, arriving around 2:30am. Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and yes, I do feel smarter.

Met my friend Laughing Wolf for a quick breakfast. What a wonderful way to start the day. We had a chance to chat and laugh and just generally have a delightful meal. He was kind enough to double check my tires and assure me that they are just fine for this adventure of mine. Got back on the road by 8:30am and it was just beautiful.

I didn't expect to run into the fall colors. What a blessing. As I got just north of Chattanooga the colors exploded. Traffic was all but nonexistant. As I wound through the mountains, the leaves were that deep burnt color that comes at the end of fall. And since there had been so much rain, there were waterfalls all along the side of the highway. It brought tears to my eyes. What a gift - and completely unexpected.

I get through the bulk of the mountains, and am chatting to just about anyone that I had programed into my phone that would answer. I'm now about 130 miles south of Nashville. Traffic is at a complete stop. For over 3 1/2 hours we sit. I went 11 miles in that time. Seems there was an accident with a semi. Looks like his engine caught fire. 3 1/2 hours to go 11 miles. Ouch.

At one time I talked with LW and he hooked me up with a friend of his that lives in Nashville. We figured out how to get past Nashville, and out of this mess, once I got to the next exit. As it turns out the accident was just south of the exit so I could stay on 24. I also talked with Bou, who made me laugh and jumped on line and found out that yes, there was an accident up ahead. But not many details.

I'm now behind schedule (sound familiar?). Traffic gets back up to speed and still isn't bad at all. Get through Nashville and feeling pretty good. It now looks like it'll be around 8:00 before I get to Mama's, but that's alright.

Get into Kentucky. My best friend calls. I'm south of Louisville. She wants to know EXACTLY where I am. And she isn't being nice about it. I tell her, and she informs me that there is a problem. Tornados and serious storm warnings throughout KY. A tornado touched down just south of Indy and there is a severe snow storm from Indy up through Michigan.

Lovely.

Traffic grinds to a halt. Still 90 miles south of Louisville. I sit for another hour. Never did find out why on that one. Got driving again, went about 30 miles and stop for yet another hour or so. (I can only imagine how many minutes I used this drive.) I called blogbro _Jon and he talked me through Louisville. When I got confused he managed to jump on line and got me back on the right track. And what a wonderful conversation we had!!! Thanks _Jon. I enjoyed that very much.

Then I talked with Teresa. As always that was a blast. We manage to cover about 10,000 topics every time we talk. By now I'm in southern Indiana and watching the temperature drop with every mile that goes by.

I probably should mention that I drive barefooted. Always. I had my cowboy boots and socks in the car, but take them off while I'm sitting in there. I also should mention that I had never worked the heater in my car. It said it was on, but I gotta say, it was pretty nippy in there. I don't know what I did, but my feet were warm - it was the tip of my nose that felt like it had been pressed against a very cold window. (I did finally figure it out, when I got about 50 miles south of my Mom's house.)

Teresa advised that I stop in Indy - there was serious snow and wind and I was pretty damned exhausted. But I just wanted to get there.

The snow started just north of Indy - a little town called Kokomo. And it started with a vengence. Huge, heavy, wet flakes. The roads weren't bad (yet) but the snow was almost blinding. Damn. Slow down to 55mph and just stay with the traffic.

The farther north I got, the worse it got. And the lighter the traffic got. I'm now off the highway and on 31N. Dark. And the snow was getting worse. Rural. Not many salt trucks.

To make a long story not so long - I got run off the road once but managed to maintain control. I had 3 cars come up behind me and try and force me over but ended up flying around me. As I crested the hill I saw one spin out of control, clip another and the third end up forced into a ditch. I quickly call 911 and report the accident. I also explained that I didn't stop as I saw that everyone was ok and I didn't have a coat or socks/shoes on. She laughed at that and said it was no problem. An officer would be right there.

It was now 11:00pm. I was only 45 miles south of my Mom's house. It just got worse. I finally arrived at 1:30am.

Exhausted.

Let's see......3 hurricanes and now a damned snow storm. This trip alone - tornados, severe wind, snow, ice.......This has not been a good weather year for me. I'm wondering just what the hell I've ever done to piss off Mother Nature.

Posted by Tammi at November 26, 2004 09:51 AM | TrackBack