The last five days have been so incredibly stressful and so incredibly relaxing that my head is still spinning. I took a few days vacation to make a surprise visit to my mom in Virginia. And let me tell you, this trip did not start as planned. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
I booked a bus trip from Milwaukee into Lynchburg, VA months ago. Before Christmas, even. I am not very good at keeping exciting secrets, but I managed it. I kept it not only from my mom, but from most of my family and off social media. Which, if you know me at all, not posting about it on social media was the hardest part. I was antsy and excited and impatient for the trip to start, but the day I left the nerves started. I was nervous and scared, but the anticipation outweighed the anxiety for the most part.
I got on the first bus feeling pretty darn good, despite being crammed into the bus like sardines. This was my first time outside of Wisconsin (and the UP) in years. Outside of Rock Fest and camping trips, this was my first vacation since my Civil Rights Pilgrimage my senior year of college. It was also the first time I've ever traveled by myself. Which was a big enough feat for myself as it was. I am normally far too much of a scardy cat worrier to even think of traveling by myself. But here I was, and feeling damn proud about it.
The second leg of the trip went far smoother than I could have ever expected. There were only 12 of us total on the whole coach bus, and it had far more room in between seats. Each of us got a two-seat section to ourselves to sprawl out on. Even though it was the longest part of the trip, the bus had wifi and power outlets. I had my phone and laptop to occupy myself and started watching the series Revenge. So despite it being a 9 hour drive on a bus, it wasn't that bad.
That, my friends, is where the smooth sailing ends. We got to Columbus at 1:55 a.m. to find out from the Information booth that, because of a snow storm across Ohio and West Virginia, all buses going South and East were cancelled. Indefinitely. Enter panic mode. I was only halfway through my trip, with no way to get to my destination, no idea when I could leave the bus station, and it was 2:00 in the freaking morning. I was exhausted, but I did not want to sleep in the bus station by myself. It was glaringly bright with an exceptionally loud tv, so staying awake wasn't particularly difficult. However, since it was 2 a.m. my time and 1 a.m. Wisconsin time, I couldn't even call anyone. I left text messages for when people woke up, but I knew I had several hours until that would happen. So in the mean time, I watched American Dad, The Office and two infomercials along with everyone else who was anxiously waiting.
Around 4 a.m. I asked the Information desk if they had any further information about trips going out East. The attendant told me that trips were likely not going back out until 5:00 p.m. or I could leave at 11 a.m. and get re-routed through Pittsburgh. The first option would put me in the station for 15 hours and then a 12 hour bus ride and the second would put me in the station for 9 hours with a 17 hour bus trip, Fuck that. Fuck all of that.
I kept checking the weather to see how the storm was progressing and trying to figure out any other options. I pondered the idea of getting a rental and going to Virginia on my own. I get really bad anxiety driving in inclement weather and it's also pretty bad when I don't know where I'm going. Combine the two and I knew I was in for a massive panic attack. But I knew it was that or wait in that damn terminal and sit on a bus for another half a day. I figured I'd take my chances.
I booked a rental with Enterprise, since they would be able to pick me up and bring me to their office. I had to wait until 7:30 a.m. for their office to open. It seemed to take forever, but once I had figured out my plan, I wasn't so anxious. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I just had to make the trip and tell the worry part of my brain to take a chill pill. 7:31 a.m. I called the rental agency and they said they would be there in about 10 minutes. After more than an hour of back and forth of where are they/we were waiting for you/what building are you in we finally realized that I had been calling Columbus, Georgia and not Columbus, Ohio. FFS. They gave me the number to a location in Columbus, which was not near me. They gave me the number to a location on the same street. A rep was able to pick me up within minutes. FINALLY.
I got a Dodge Challenger, which was a freakin boat of a car. But once I got used to driving it, it was actually a really nice car. The seat was raised, so I didn't have to worry about seeing over the steering wheel. Yes, that is a real problem. The heating of the car was great and it was a pretty smooth ride. So I got into the vehicle, picked up the trusty Android and said "OK Google, take me to Lynchburg, Virginia."
All in all, the drive wasn't too bad, but of course that couldn't go without hiccups either. I started off on the Interstate, but when I got off to get food, I got turned around, couldn't find a sign for I-70, and the GPS was telling me to get onto 33 East. I had no idea where I was going, so I took it. Well, 33 East was not the Interstate, but rather, an old country two lane highway. Which was not plowed very well, if at all. After about an hour on this highway with no connection to the Interstate in sight, I finally pulled off at an exit with a gas station and a Walmart. I called Man Friend in a panic not knowing where I was, if I was even going in the right direction and that I was driving through untreated roads. He worked his calming magic and within a few moments I was back on the road.
Those un-salted and un-plowed roads combined with overly cautious (and that's coming from me) drivers who have no idea how to drive in the snow added at least an hour or an hour and a half to my 6 hour drive. But I had no need to hurry, so I rolled with it. Despite my nerves, I defintely felt like a boss driver, though. I had that shit under control and knew I could handle myself way better than any of those others drivers on the road. I eventually hit the Interstate again and from there it was smooth sailing. I did hit a more sections of un-plowed highway, but then I also found sections that were immaculately plowed and salted. Oh, and I never hit any "storms," just a few flurries. I assumed I missed the storms with my delays or the storms weren't as bad as they were predicting. I never even came across more than a few inches of snow on the ground.
I FINALLY got to Lynchburg, which is about 45 minutes away from my mom's place, to drop of the rental and meet up with my mom's man friend. I pulled into the wrong driveway, but saw that it connected to the next one over through the back. I drove down, and not realizing there was a curb because of the snow, drove right over the curb and got my boat stuck on the curb. I had no idea if there is any damage to the car (there wasn't, thankfully) and couldn't get it to move. I called Mom's man friend just bawling. I didn't think anything else could go wrong in one day, but I certainly had hit my limit. He told me it wasn't a big deal, drove over, and got me over the curb seamlessly.
Once I got to my mom's, I walked right in the door and, since her back was to me, said "You got anything good to eat in this joint?" She turned around and screamed "WHAT THE FUCK!" She looked terrified. I thought she was going to have a heart attack. She simply stood there, mouth gaping open. I said "Hey." and she continued to stare at me. I walked over, gave her a hug, and then it hit her. She started crying, asking what I was doing there and how long I would be there for. That was a pretty great reaction and made the previous 15 hours or so totally worth it.
I wasn't here for long, just a long weekend, but it was so incredibly relaxing. I basically spent Thursday night through Sunday night not worrying about a single thing. I got to hang out, relax, do whatever I wanted. I didn't have to worry about a busy schedule or making plans. In all honesty, I would go crazy if I didn't have the hectic schedule that I do; I like being busy. But it takes a toll on you and sometimes you just need to turn your brain off.
It was great getting to hang out with my mom and talk about everything and nothing. It is very rare that when we actually do see each other, it's just the two of us. Visiting is usually with the whole family and even when she is home, I have so many other commitments that our time together is pretty staggered anyway. This weekend we got to go shopping together and sat outside taking in the gorgeous weather and it was glorious.
 |
| Perhaps too glorious. Sunburned at the first sight of sun. |
So until next time, Virginia, peace and blessings.
No comments:
Post a Comment