I just returned from a trip to Montana. And it proved to be very eye opening for me.
First of all, I could not believe the number of people who thought I was too old to be driving by myself. Even my surgeon told me it wasn't smart for me to drive "all that way" alone. Others told me I was really brave to be taking off like that. I thought they were all over reacting.
I took Daisy (my car) into John's Auto and had them go through Daisy from front to back. They assured me she was ready to go. Daisy is a sweet ride but she doesn't have cruise control or electric windows or door locks. She is 15 years old and I truly wasn't sure how she would do on a long trip.
Sunrise on departure day.
I planned a short travel day for my first day. Wanted to make sure both Daisy and I would do okay. I must admit I was feeling very anxious when I headed out. I just had surgery on my ankle and Achilles tendon. It had been 13 years since I had done much driving. Jim drove about 98% of the time. I was also taking this journey alone without Jim.
My first day on the road did not go smoothly. Not because of Daisy or me. We were on I-10 headed to Parker for the night. A semi truck filled with gas and diesel fuel, over turned and spilled its load. The highway was shut down going both directions at 10:15 a.m. and did not reopen until 5:45p.m. We were inching along and it took us 3 1/2 hours to go about 5 miles to the exit to get off. Daisy did not overheat (it was close to 110 degrees) and I was sure glad her air conditioning was working.
This is part of a machine that they use to clean up the spilled fuel.
Got to the motel in Parker and they gave me a key to a room that was already occupied. Finally got a key to an empty room and collapsed.
When I had a chance to think about the day, I knew we were going to push on.
So I haven't been blobbing, but I'm ready to blog and there are several posts to come.
I worried about you because I knew Jim always did the driving, not because you were "too old" to drive across the country. My dad was in poor health the last ten years of his life, my Mom would drive them from Arkansas to Montana. If something had gone wrong with the car Dad could not have helped in any way. When he died people were appalled that Mom was going to drive from Arkansas to Montana by herself and she was only 66 years old!! She told them she might as well have been driving by herself all the years Dad was still alive as he was no help. I'm glad your trip went well and that you got some Montana time!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Just do it... :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my what a start to you adventure. I get that things happen on the road but to get a key to someones else's rooms. Now that is scary. Glad you A/C is workimg
ReplyDelete