The drive home

This entry is brought to you be the creativity and spontaneity of the secret admirers of the world.

Thursday, July 7--the balance of the day

After my visit with CG, I hopped on 7 highway and went Eastbound. I should have gone west toward Winchester. I do not know what I was thinking at the time. I took 7 and connected with US 15 and went north toward Frederick and connected with good ol' I-70. When I approached the I-70, I-81 Interchange, I decided to go south on 81. "What the heck, I'm still on vacation," I told myself.

I-81 started off as a sunny drive but after 100 miles, clouds began to accumulate. I wasn't surprised because Washington DC radio said the area was to receive the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy which meant 4 to 6 inches of rain and flash flooding. After another 50 miles, I was driving in a light rain. When I connected with Westbound I-64 the rain was steady. I managed to keep the car at 70 mph until I reached Beckley, WVA. After a lunch break, I got on the WVA turnpike and went north. I managed my speed until the first toll gate. But after I paid my $1.25 toll, the driving became difficult.

Apparently, there was a truck accident on north I-77 which connects to the WVA turnpike north of Charleston. This had a ripple affect on my portion of the highway. Traffic was extremely heavy and I could only maintain a maximum speed of 30-35 mph. I arrived in Charleston a little tired from this experience and perhaps frustrated. I got fuel and got back on the highway and drove 7.2 miles and came to a sudden stop on westbound I-64.

At 7PM, two cattle trucks collided ahead of me killing livestock, spilling fuel on the highway, and totally blocking traffic. I let my car idle for ten minutes thinking I would begin driving again. This was not the case. Although, no one was killed in the accident, the combination of gasoline and cow guts on the highway makes for slippery, hazardous driving. The troopers knew this and would let no car through the accident scene. I was happy to have my cell phone with me. I phone C and A to inform them of this predicament.

Other car passengers started to become restless or curious. Some people walked up to assess the accident scene. Other people released their children from back seat captivity so that they could spend pent up energy. To my left, three children (under close parent supervision) encourage Eastbound trucks to sound their horn. Meanwhile, other people went up a grass hill and to a nearby overpass to get a higher view of the accident. When it became apparent that we weren't going anywhere, I began to read a book I had with me, I examined the road atlas, and I even checked my email via my cell phone.

After a few hours, some cars began driving along the shoulder of the highway seeing if they could worm their way through the accident location. At first, I thought they may have been successful. But after I repositioned my car, I realized these drivers discovered an access road that lead up to the bridge where people went earlier. I'm guessing this access road led to a secondary highway that runs parallel to 64.

After four and half hours, it became foggy. Two members of the cleanup crew walked over with their flashlights to inform each car that it would be another hour and a half. Around midnight, I began to go in and out of sleep. I was awakened by the revving of a semi truck engine that had been silent for five hours. The cleanup job was done. It was time to drive.

I drove an additional 35 miles and spent the night in a Huntington, WVA Days Inn. I originally made a reservation at a Holiday Inn but could not find it at 2 o'clock in the morning with my eyes fighting tremendous fatigue. I went to sleep at 2:30 and woke up at 9AM. I was hoping to reach central Kentucky by daylight's end. Boy was I disappointed.

I divided the remaining 700 miles of driving into two days and arrived back in Kansas City around 1PM Saturday. Despite the traffic mess on I-64 in WVA, I had a fun time on my vacation.

Should I fly next time? Perhaps someone knows............