Other known as.... ROAD TRIIIIIIIIP!
When I drove down with Isaac to Florida, I knew that I was going to have to find someone to drive back to Illinois (because there was no way in heck that my family would let me drive alone for 2 days). I thought about the various people I knew down there, sorted the married/engaged people out from the single ones (SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING MARRIED HOLY COW), and narrowed it down to the only logical choice: Jean Marie.
I hadn't seen Jean since January 2012, pre-breakup. She was one of the few people that stayed in contact with me after stuff went down, and our friendship has continued over the past almost-two-years. So when I asked if she wanted to drive with me back home, the response was "YES PLEASE" and we planned the entire trip while I was in Florida.
The tricky part was that we both had lives during this planning. So while I was chasing nephews, going on grocery trips, doing photo shoots, and visiting friends, she was starting her photography business and doing photo shoots and basically overloading her schedule. :P
Friday, Dec 6th: I drove across the state to her house and entered to a form of controlled chaos: Jean had a piano recital that night and may or may not have been wigging out a little bit. (Okay, maybe a lot.) Combine that with 'haven't seen you in years' excitement and the controlled chaos elevated slightly. We attended the recital, went back to her house, and I was in bed by midnight. I had an unexpected bedfellow briefly in the form of Lucy Mae, resident dachshund, and then woke up at 6 AM to Lucy Mae on my bed again. It's a good thing she's cute and that I wake up quickly, because I otherwise might have been inclined to panic. Heh.
The stakes were elevated in the form of a winter storm moving through the same day that we were to be driving. Saturday looked good but was supposed to turn icy and nasty at night. Therefore, much planning was required to figure out how to bypass the storm and keep Jean's parent's fears allayed.
Saturday, December 7th: We loaded up the car with snacks (something like 3 dozen cookies, 2 huge bags of oranges and grapefruit, apples, peanut butter, various chips, and almonds. Miraculously we didn't spend a single dime on food for the whole trip) and hit the road.
Jean took the first shift driving from 7 AM to 1-ish, just south of Atlanta. An hour into the drive we were stuck in traffic on the interstate due to a horrific crash between a semi and who knows how many other vehicles--all three lanes of traffic were closed, pushing everyone to pass the accident via the outside shoulder of the road. Needless to say it /was a sobering start to our trip.
I would like to add, though, that I checked on the wreck later, and only 2 people were injured. Talk about a miracle, because the aftermath was AWFUL.
I would like to add, though, that I checked on the wreck later, and only 2 people were injured. Talk about a miracle, because the aftermath was AWFUL.
By the time we reached Atlanta the weather had done nothing aside from drop some rain and get us a little wet. I took over and drove from Atlanta to Clarksville, TN with only a couple of stops along the way. During that time, the temperature dropped from 83 F (in Florida) to 20 F in Clarksville. Every time we stopped Jean would go "IT'S SO COOOOOLD" and I would go "I KNOW ISN'T IT WONDERFUL???"
Originally we were going to stop in Clarksville, but we ended up driving another couple of hours to Carbondale, IL. A friend of mine from this summer lives there, and he managed to find us an amazing hotel with an equally amazing deal to stay for the night. And the weather was supposed to turn nasty in Clarksville, so we thought that by going north a bit we could get past the worst of the ice and rain.
(This turned out to be a good idea, because upon looking up the weather the next morning Clarksville was covered in ice, and Carbondale had a nice thick layer of snow. I'll take snow over ice ANY day.)
While driving we oscillated between the giddiness of being on a legit ROAD TRIP and the seriousness that comes from catching up and covering some difficult topics. We knew that we needed to discuss some things, but they weren't things that could be successfully discussed via Facebook or Gmail. I think by hashing them out, though, that our friendship has reached a depth that was otherwise unattainable. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.
In Carbondale we stayed at the Fairfield Inn, and OH MAN. It was SO comfortable, and after driving for 9 hours straight it was a wonderful respite. David gets a shout-out for recommending such a great hotel. XD
Sunday, December 8th: The next morning we met David at Cracker Barrel, and since I hadn't seen him since October it was nice to (a) see a ranch person again and (b) catch up a bit. And then he paid for our breakfast, so he gets another shout-out for being a gentleman. XD
It was another 5 or 6 hours home; I drove the entire way because Jean isn't used to driving in snow or ice, and I wasn't about to give her a crash course (no pun intended). Miraculously, St. Louis was almost clear of traffic and once we got out we were home free.
In Hannibal, MO I did run a stop light, but I swear it was by accident. See, it had been snowing on and off by this point, and the road, while not icy, was a bit slick. I came down the road towards a traffic light, and while driving about 40 mph I applied the brakes. The anti-lock brakes kicked in, and instead of stopping we kept sliding. I pumped the brakes, but we kept sliding.
At this point the light turned yellow, and I was too close to stop. Fortunately all the other people waiting to go politely watched me as I slid through the red light, and Jean and I had a good laugh about how stupid we must have looked. XD
I regret to announce that by this point I had taken a grand total of zero pictures. *hangs head* Jean more than made up for me, but still. Sigh.
We arrived safe and sound, if a little tired, and spent the next few days playing in snow, sliding on ice at the lake, and trying not to go crazy at the gym. I had to work there in the evenings, and there were some people that liked to come in and play loud, obnoxious music. O.e
Tuesday, December 10th: After working at the gym we went to see a dear mutual friend, Shelby C. Shelby is a great friend of mine, and I go to see her probably once a month or so (she lives an hour away). Jean is also friends with Shelby, but they had never actually met aside from seeing each other on Facebook. So...with that said, it was a reunion to remember. :D
I don't have any pictures of the first meeting...but here's a few that we took afterwards.
(I would like to take this time to point out that either I'm insanely short, or I have really tall friends.)
I don't even know what was happening here.....
*This post interrupted to point out that Jean has some of the prettiest, most photogenic eyes I've ever seen. Period.*
I don't know what was going on here either. XD
ELK!
Jean with Shelby's younger sister Michelle...
...and her other sister Morgan.
But all good things must come to an end...and on Thursday the 12th Jean flew home and I went back to working more or less full time. Sigh. I wouldn't have traded that trip for anything, though. It was an absolute blast and has instilled within me the desire to travel. A LOT. The next few posts (should I ever get them up *despairs*) should outline some of that. :D
I regret to announce that by this point I had taken a grand total of zero pictures. *hangs head* Jean more than made up for me, but still. Sigh.
We arrived safe and sound, if a little tired, and spent the next few days playing in snow, sliding on ice at the lake, and trying not to go crazy at the gym. I had to work there in the evenings, and there were some people that liked to come in and play loud, obnoxious music. O.e
Tuesday, December 10th: After working at the gym we went to see a dear mutual friend, Shelby C. Shelby is a great friend of mine, and I go to see her probably once a month or so (she lives an hour away). Jean is also friends with Shelby, but they had never actually met aside from seeing each other on Facebook. So...with that said, it was a reunion to remember. :D
I don't have any pictures of the first meeting...but here's a few that we took afterwards.
(I would like to take this time to point out that either I'm insanely short, or I have really tall friends.)
I don't even know what was happening here.....
*This post interrupted to point out that Jean has some of the prettiest, most photogenic eyes I've ever seen. Period.*
I don't know what was going on here either. XD
ELK!
Jean with Shelby's younger sister Michelle...
...and her other sister Morgan.
But all good things must come to an end...and on Thursday the 12th Jean flew home and I went back to working more or less full time. Sigh. I wouldn't have traded that trip for anything, though. It was an absolute blast and has instilled within me the desire to travel. A LOT. The next few posts (should I ever get them up *despairs*) should outline some of that. :D
