I decided to take it easy and stay in one place for another night. How could I not when Shelly is such an awesome hostess? Given the timing, I don’t think I’m going to get to see the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, given the timing of when I have to be in Rochester, but I’m going to go that direction and see what I can see anyway. No point in going back the same way you came.
Yesterday, Shelly and I went into town and I took some photos. You can see the gallery from my trip on my photos post. We walked through a bit of the older part of the town and had lunch at one of her favourite restaurants. I think mimosas at any time of the day are appropriate. We walked through one of the antique stores on the street and then went to Burgess Falls. That’s where the term “Champagne Sweat” come from, because we walked through the park to see the waterfalls which were amazing. The photo here was taken at the very end. PS. Stay tuned for more #OHinTennessee. 😉
The next day, I got asked to be on a podcast with my co-workers, Brian Hogg and Chris Ross, so I did the entire thing from outside on the deck at Shelly’s place. Great weather for it. We then went to Auto Zone, because my car decided to throw an error with the check engine light. We went and it turns out it was just some coolant, which was such a relief! When I said to the guy behind the counter that the car needed to make it back to Canada, he said “Oh I love Canada! They have great beer,”. Nice to know we’re good for something!
I left Tennessee reluctantly around 2 pm. I decided to not go back the same way I came, and went via West Virginia. My goal was to make it to Bridgepoint, WV, otherwise I may not make Rochester the next day on time.
What a ride! I think this is the leg of the journey where I learned the most about myself. Firstly, when I was on my way to Tennessee, I almost missed a turn. There were lots of them, it was dark and not very clear turns. When I missed it, the GPS immediately told me to then keep going on the highway that I had been on, rather than keeping the turn, even though I was 10 ft away. I took this as an opportunity to pause and get some water, etc., then took the recommendation of the GPS and kept going. On the way back, the GPS told me to go the original way that I did on the way down. THANK GOODNESS I didn’t take it at night. I would have killed myself. If you’ve ever been down the road to Hana in Hawaii, you’ll know what I mean. There were a lot of twists and turns, close to the edge road, and going up and down the mountain. Driving a big-ass Buick with a little VW Golf following didn’t help!
I got to Kentucky and decided to pull over there to get gas, take a break and have a good dinner. I haven’t been to a Big Boy since I was a kid. I decided to go there and sit at the counter, since I was by myself. I met a lovely couple who chatted to me while I waited for my dinner to arrive. The big thing I learned is that I have real trouble understanding a Kentucky accent. I asked about what kind of pie they had, even though I didn’t finish my dinner. The list was long, but I decided on the chocolate cream pie, even though the recommendation from the couple was the peanut butter pie. I hadn’t had chocolate in a while, so I stuck to it. They didn’t have any so I went with their recommendation after all. I took it to go and ate it at the hotel.
I left Kentucky just after dinner time, and headed towards Charleston. I figured that was the half way point to my destination for the evening, so I’d stop there and get coffee, take a quick break and reach Bridgepoint at a semi-decent hour. Boy was I wrong! I got to Charleston and as I was going through, tried to find more of a coffee type place because I didn’t want to go anywhere near a McDonald’s or the like. No luck. As I kept driving, I figure I’m good to keep going, so I do. It’s now dark, and the highway is getting less lit and more winding as I go. I’m NOT going to pull off the highway now! (Thanks Sensei!) Then comes the fog. Things I learned on this trip…most truck drivers, and regular drivers for that matter are pretty good, but there are going to be those few that are going to make it terrible for everyone, by driving in the left lane when you’re going slower than everyone else, by leaving your high beams on, or tailgating me when you’re in the RIGHT lane and you have the entire left lane to move into. Next thing I know, I get a cop spinning it’s blue lights behind me. I think I’m done for sure! The car breezes right past me and I breathe a sigh of relief. By this point in the trip, I am speaking to myself and it’s sounding rather intelligent. Google Maps is not only great for showing where you’re going, but also how the turns go in the fog and when your trip ETA is getting farther and farther away. I saw a red patch on my GPS and found out where the cop was going in a hurry: a turned over 18 wheeler. I could see the cab was almost completely burnt away and could smell the smoke through the vents in the car. It was more than I was used to seeing back home, and we had to go slowly because we had to drive on the shoulder.
I arrived at the hotel safely and thought I’d be bursting through the door to use the washroom, or get to my room and pass out cold. I surprised myself. I checked in, parked my car, got my stuff out for the night, went to my room and didn’t rush either. I don’t know if I was disoriented or amazingly calm. Either way, it wasn’t me.
Ultimately, even if I’ve accomplished nothing, I don’t care. I needed this and maybe I’ve learned some things about myself. If nothing else, I’ve learned that I can do this. I can be alone and by myself. And I’m okay with it for once.
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