Road Trip...
10/26/2008
Saturday morning just about nine o’clock, I headed down the driveway in a blue Dodge minivan for a 1025 mile trip from Beautiful Downtown Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, population 711 to the thriving metropolis of Conway, Arkansas. I have had the van at my house since August after one of my sales reps left the company. The company wanted it in Conway. I wanted it out of my possession. I had a business trip to the plant planned, and the twain met. Long story short, I made the drive. It was interesting, enjoyable, nerve wracking, educational, and relaxing.
I made be off my rocker, but I don’t find driving especially tiring; though after ten hours and 776 miles of it on Saturday, I was less than energetic. Bowling Green, Kentucky was a pleasant site having driven a couple of hours after the sun set, and I was looking forward to eating some dinner and going to bed, which I did at exactly 8:48PM.
Driving through the mountains I was treated to majestic colors as fall hung heavy on the trees. The trip started out in the rain, and as my odometer clicked over the 200-mile mark, as I motored south on I-79 in West Virginia, the rain ceased. The smoky, gray clouds hung over the mountains like a shawl and accentuated the color of the leaves. I was listening to “The Dream Girls in Concert” and got a little emotional as I gazed out at what God provided as my entertainment along the way. Awesome!
This Technicolor scenery lasted for nearly 400 miles through West Virginia and Kentucky. I got so involved in it I missed a turn and drove an extra 100 miles before I bought a map. Hell, I am a guy. I was not about to stop and ask for directions. I’d rather die.
After a restless night in a Hampton Inn, I awoke this morning as 3:30 and lay in the bed thinking about getting up and on the road for about fifteen minutes before finally do it, and hit the road at 4:16. I drove through Nashville, Tennessee in the dark and nearly made it another 200 miles before Her Majesty lifted over the eastern horizon.
I checked into my hotel here in Conway, Arkansas at 10 this morning having gone 1113 miles. It is the longest trip I have ever made by car, and I am excited that one day I may get to do it again. But I think next time I would like to have The Nancy with me. She would have asked for directions.
And that is all I have to say about that…