Okay, so I mentioned we had our final gathering this weekend and because I had made the journey the previous weekend, I had no more gifts to give out..Which also means I had no more gifts to receive. Or so I thought.....
My niece and nephew seem to be coming down with a little bug over the weekend. A bunch of coughing and congestion it seemed... I did not pay too much attention to it because I am usually extremely healthy throughout the year....
Sooooo, the Bri-Baby gave me lots of Eskimo Kisses ( in which she attempts to break my nose). But kisses are kisses, RIGHT?? And she is so precious, so I could not refuse.. And J..... Well, J coughed all over my nachos!!! Okay, not really. But he was close by when he was coughing, so I had to throw some blame his way...
Now, a day later, I am sitting at home coughing and sneezing.. Yippee for Me!! Oh, did I mention I can not breathe.
I don't believe I mentioned it on the last post, but the reason I was making such good time for the most part of my journey was because 50% of the traffic was doing well to maintain 75-80 mph. The other 50 % were averaging 90+.
So, I am happy to report that on my return trip home, traffic was flowing just as well. But get this, NO ACCIDENTS.
I started noticing a few particular cars that grouped together for at least a hundred miles. They all took turns leading the pack and no one missed a beat re-accelerating after a minor slow down.. It was almost choreographed, the way they would yield to each other when changing lanes and maneuvering through the slower traffic...
So, I begin to check out the tags on these vehicles and noticed they were all Georgia Tags.. Seven counties represented in all....
Funny thing, is the previous day there was also another group of vehicles traveling rapidly down the interstate and 5 out of 7 of those were also GA Tags..
Now who say folks cant drive in Atlanta. Just because they cant go in circles, like say around the Watermelon 500 ( also known as the Perimeter, or 285) doesn't mean they cant drive in a straight line.... Git R Done....
Well this weekend was the final gathering of family for the Holidays. We all got together at Dads.. I was really dreading the drive this time as I have not spent much time at home this month. But with a little twisting of the arm, my brothers convinced me to head out.
I was making pretty good time when all of the sudden traffic came to screeching halt about 30 minutes from my destination... It seems that I am doomed to suffer from other peoples mistakes. At least after far as traveling is concerned...
This time it was a pretty serious collision and I do hope the pick-up driver made it out okay...If you look closely at the second photo, you can just make out the Truck.
Side note: On the way home a day later, there were tomatoes scattered on the opposite side of the freeway as well. Must have been a pretty hard hit, but the 18 Wheeler showed no signs of damage..
So, here is my promise to you.. I promise that I will fuss about traffic congestion any more this year.... Which really should not be too hard to manage, after all tomorrow is a brand new year..
Well, it seems that everyone must have enjoyed their Christmas Gatherings last week. Enjoyed them so much that they did not feel the need to pay attention to what was traveling down the interstates beside them.
This was another one of those excruciating weeks for travelers.. More so, for us who were actually having to work that week.. I did however make it out of Georgia before encountering my first delay. I was determined to not sit idly by and go with the program..Instead, I chose an alternate route through the country side. (This is not always such a good idea for those in large vehicles) The route turned out to be easily manageable once you got through the first town. The total time for this alternate route was about 1.5 hours. Thirty minutes of that were spent maneuvering through the little town of Aiken South Carolina.
I assume that this little community must not be Truck Friendly simply because the highway signs did not include 4 simple little words. Major Information. I did not see a single sign that included the directional information required to guide folks safely out of town. NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST..... So, after crossing the same intersections and retrying the same roads in the opposite direction I finally made my escape..
There were several of us making this little trek into the unknown. They say there is safety in numbers.. But the whole lot of us left that town convinced that we had just left the Bermuda Triangle of alternate routes.. While a bit frustrating for us, I am sure it was quite amusing for the town folk. Imagine FIVE BIG TRUCKS doing doughnuts all over town...
Okay, that was a bit longer than I had anticipated, so I will paraphrase the rest
My first delivery was in NC. My second accident site was also in North Carolina. Boy was it a mess. Two big trucks, got together and the first one ended up in the center median buried up to the axles. The second truck ended up side swiping a bridge support and completely tearing open the entire right side of his tractor and trailer. Boxes were scattered for 300 yards. Interstate SHUT DOWN!!
Next was Virginia and Maryland. From the 130 mile post in VA to the 24 mile post in MD, there was a total of 22 accidents....That is approximately 70 miles...
Delaware was not bad, only 1 accident site, but there is only an 8 mile stretch of interstate across DE.
Pennsylvania had to get in on the action also. While there were no fender benders on the Turnpike, they did indeed decide that the roadway needed a little clean up action. Result, 9 miles of congestion. They had decided to put the street sweepers on the interstate where 4 lanes merge into two. Of course, that means only one lane was available to the traffic.
Only one more notable delay to mention.... I-77 Southbound in VA... 27 mile back-up with the interstate being closed down near the scene....
And how were your Holiday Travels????
Downsizing Week 5
I know I said I wasnt going to post diet results this week, but its too good to be true.. I am officially at the 10lb mark. I guess I could have had some of that EggNog after all... Oh well, there is always next year.
Merry Christmas to All!!
I just want to say Thanks to all who were involved in the previous weeks holiday activities...The moments I spend with friends and family, I truly cherish...
The first leg of my Holiday travels began at my oldest Brothers home. This is always a pleasant experience. I have two wonderful nephews and a terrific Sister-n-Law.. We went to an early movie and then had dinner. Due to my concerns over my diet, I decided to share entrees with my nephews. This worked out to my advantage.. because we had indulged ourselves with popcorn and candy at the theater.
The Boys are definitely growing up and developing wonderful personalities.. As always I tried to pull a prank on them.. The first one received his Christmas Cash in the form of one dollar bills. I had attempted to trick the other into thinking that I had forgotten to include his money in the gift. For one split second he had a tiny look of disappointment on his face, before he noticed the cash stashed behind a piece of cardboard... Next year, I will have to do better.!!
After the visit with my oldest brothers family, I made a pit stop at my Fathers... (Naturally, I want to visit with everyone during the Holidays) So, I stopped by for a few hours to catch up on all the gossip.
I was pleased to see the progress my StepMother has made on her weightloss journey. I am very excited for her..
After chatting for sometime, I headed off to my next destination.. Right on schedule
