Tuesday, May 21, 2013

1200 miles


to be honest, I am still quite worn out from the trip.  I still haven't unpacked, I was nearly falling asleep last night at 6:30.. so info about BlogPaws is still going to have to wait.. sorry.

but the trip home.. I don't need to upload a lot of images for that or find links, so you get that story now :)

I set my trip odometer before I left the house.  When I got home I had nearly 1200 miles on my car.

When traveling with someone, you always have to make some sacrifices, but I was very lucky with Robin.  She understood my need to get going early.  We packed my car up with in an inch of its life and headed out a little later then I would have liked, but a little earlier then my "oh we really should have left by now!!" time limit.

We talked most of the way.  I will tell you that Robin has had one amazingly full life so far.  She has some wonderful stories to tell, and I really enjoyed traveling with her.

As a bonus, so did Odilia...

pict ©Robin Anderson

as someone who is afraid of heights, I have to say I am NOT a fan of the Delaware Memorial Bridge especially in the rain.. but I had  a good companion who kept me distracted, I kept my head down, and went slow..   Mentally I know there is nothing to worry about, but some how my stomach and throat are totally disconnected with that, and the second I see how high up I am they simply panic.

The trip to CT to drop Robin off was pretty uneventful.  There was some concern about going through or near NYC due to the train derailment, but with the help of Robin's cell phone and a call to Sam we got through it with minimal waits in traffic.

I stopped at Robin's for a rest stop, and I got to pat The Dood, which was nice.  As much as I love kittens, they simply do not compare to the joy of patting a big ol cat.

I did not hang out long, as I really wanted to get home before the sun set.  It was still drizzling and as little sleep as I got through the past few days I did not want to get caught in the rain in the dark.  I drove for a while then stopped and filled up the car, got a Subway sub and a bottle of Mountain Dew.

I have not had a MtnDew since they changed the name of it from Moutain to Mtn.. I used to have a huge addiction to it, drinking a six pack a day (if not more) due to the fact that I had to get up way too early and count money...I cut out all soda from my diet years ago.  I occasionally drink a soda that is made of sugar only (not HFCS) but it is rare.. but I wanted the caffeine and I don't drink coffee.  I have to tell you it felt like every cell in my body responded on the very first sip. it was a little disconcerting..

Still trekking along nicely, with Odilia sleeping in the back not giving one care that we are moving, I made a few merges as one road turned into another, when I made one specific merge.

This time I was 75% in front of the car I was trying to merge into, but he was not backing off.  I was uncomfortable stepping on the gas and getting in front of him, so I stepped on the break and let him go past.  As I finally merged, I looked to the left to make sure I was OK with the car that was there, then glanced behind me to see where those cars were and as I looked forward, I saw the car that had been in my way previously heading at a 135 degree angle  from the 'slow' lane that we were originally in... aka he was heading for the median.  It took me half a beat wondering what on earth he was doing when he impacted the guard rail.  the hit was shocking to my system, and my foot was off the gas and slowing me down by lightly breaking before I even realized what I was doing.  He hit the rail (which was post and wire) and bounced off it a bit like a bumper car.  he ended up damaging the whole side of his car, nearly ripping his rear view mirror off, and at least his front tire was flat.

the guy next to me had also slowed down, so the crippled car had room to limp off to the break down lane, which is good because that was where it was going regardless of what we were both doing.  I was never more thankful that I leave so much room in front of me and the next car that I get cut off all the time.  If I hadn't, or if my foot hadn't moved and started slowing me down, I am certain he would have taken my car out as well and Odilia and I would have been a world of trouble.

But we were fine, and the rest of the trip went off with out incident.

I finished the book I was listening to while I was in New Hampshire. Knowing the Pascataqua River Bridge was coming up, I turned on the Match Box 20 album I have been listening to "North" and as I came upon this..


This was playing..




To say I was overjoyed was an understatement.  It was still light, the rain had stopped.. I was nearly home.. (Just an aside, this video is special to me.  I met my husband on a carousel)

When I got off the turnpike, I found it near impossible not to speed.  Not because I had just spent the last 11+ hours going 65+ miles an hour, but because I simply wanted to be home..

I was so happy to be home.. The Crew was happy to see me, but then they remembered they were ticked at me for leaving and I got the cold shoulder for a while.  Muffin took nearly two and a half hours before she decided that I MUST make up for lost time and kisses not given.

I did make it in to work the next day..

btw, since Odilia was such a big hit at BlogPaws, and had her picture taken by seemingly everyone, I know her image must be on blogs.. If you happen to stumble upon any, would you mind sharing URLs with me?

13 comments:

  1. Living in a tiny little country with a road system like cooked spaghetti, I am in awe, not just of your road system, but your ability to drive for so many hours!! Kudos to you Connie and am glad the journey ended safely despite the near miss! Will look out for Odilia.

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  2. There are some photos of Odilia on Glogrily,glad you got home safe inspite of the mishap you saw,xx Rachel

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  3. I'm so relieved you (and Olidia) are okay. That other person's car accident was a little too close for comfort!
    Has all the loving and attention at Blogpaws spoiled our little Odilia? ;)

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  4. I am SO glad your trip was safe--it is scary to see that kind of stuff on the road.

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  5. It was so nice to meet you and Odelia!

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  6. There is a picture of Odilia over at The Island Cats.

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  7. I'm glad your trip was safe!
    Btw I did not know Mountain Dew chsnged name...

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  8. Odilia is on my blog's Monday post. She was one of the highlights of my human's trip!

    My human has only gotten hints now and there of Robin's life and background and knows she has had quite a fascinating life - and an amazing family!

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  9. We follow Robin and applaud all she does for all of those wonderful kitties.
    What a trip you had and we think it is wonderful you were able to take Odilla.

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  10. Twinkle Toes blog has two pictures of a very very cute Odilla!

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  11. Thank goodness you made it home safely, that near miss was a little too close for comfort I would think.

    What a good kitten Odilia is, someone is going to be very lucky to have her in their home!

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  12. So glad your both home safe!

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  13. MOWZERS. That has to have been one scary moment! We're so glad our mom's not the only one who is still wiped out from BlogPaws. (though she's freaked enough about bedbugs to have dumped all the laundry into the washer as soon as she walked in, so unpacking's done at least)

    But she was in bed Monday night at 9:30 and fell asleep last night on the floor beside where Maxwell flopped for some belleh rubbin' around 8:30.

    Regarding Robin, she says that all our pet blog friends have the most fascinating lives and she loved meeting them all - but especially loved being able to hang with you, Stephanie & Amy. You guys were her fave home-base, go-to peeps!

    And she's WAY more of a slacker than you. She put up a lame-o post today about BlogPaws, and has one sorta started for tomorrow... *sighhh*

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