8/10/10…Has anyone ever experienced a nightmare move? This is ours; a chronicle of our trip as newlyweds from Clinton, Mississippi en route to Marion, Virginia.
Our UHaul reservation was canceled. The other UHaul place messed up our order and we had no furniture pads. The gas tank was only ¼ full knowing we had a 7 hour ride ahead of us. The UHaul transport insurance on your car was null and void, please do not ask why. Our movers were running late by an hour. It meant we would not leave Jackson until 2 hours later than we desired. The weather, let’s not talk about the Mississippi weather; hot and humid with a forecast of hot and humid. Sweat dripped off me and the heat drained you. On a brighter note, we ourselves were running late due to our love for one another just the day before. In a frenzy, we packed as fast as we could. Finally, our movers were done and we were done. Already the beginnings of our exhaustion were setting in.
Down the highway we went. After hours on the road we spot a sign to stop for gas. Driving a 26 foot truck with an auto transport is no easy task because if we get stuck, there is no way out. The most stressful part is stopping somewhere for gas where we know we can pull in and out easy. The billboard said a stop for Love’s, a perfect place to fit a 26 foot truck and transport. We pull off the highway and make the turn. Then we see the place is still under construction and there is nowhere to turn this massive vehicle around. We may be struck. Making a quick decision, we pull into a bank parking lot to the right of the road. We soon realize there may not be a way out. The truck clearance to get through the ATM area and around the bank to the road is too low. However, there is about a foot clearance in the roofline to maneuver the truck around. Slowly I inch around the overhang with you directing me. We barely make it and with a sigh of relief we exit.
Our gas tank is almost on empty so we have to stop before we get back on the highway. There is another gas station and we decide to stop. After $99 worth of gas, I pull the UHaul around and we go grab a quick 15 minute bite to eat. 1 hour later, we exit. We never knew it took that long to make a hamburger. We pay, exit the restaurant, and head over to the UHaul. I open the cab door and discover an ant infestation; there are literally thousands of ants crawling all around the door frame. I mean they are everywhere, thousands and thousands of these little nuisances. There is nothing we can do other than try and swipe them off with my Clemson hat, which by the way, does absolutely no good because there are so many of them. We have never seen anything like this. With no other option, we decide to bear it and climb back in the UHaul cab. As we depart, ants crawl on us and we flick them off one by one with our fingers. Nothing like driving 70 mph down the highway while trying to swiping ants off our bodies; looking back it is a sort of funny mental picture to imagine. No so much then. We still have 3-4 hours of drive time.
Dusk begins settling in. The Alabama roads are bumpy making us feel like we are in an unbalanced washing machine. Making our way towards Gadsen, all of a sudden a sign tells us “Trucks longer than 12 feet must exit”. It requires a split decision even though we have no idea what the sign means. We exit and make the turn where the detour signs show us go. Slowly we make our way down the 2 lane road until we approach an intersection with 2 detour signs telling us to go in different directions. We have no idea which way to go. Stuck, we turn on the emergency signal lights and sit trying to make a decision. Not knowing what to do we pull into a convenience store and ask for help. After some tentative advice, we take a sigh and head back to the interstate. As we make our way back onto the interstate, we notice there is construction and the lanes do indeed narrow. However, we are able to make our way through the entrance zone so we have no idea why the sign was there in the first place telling us to exit. Anyways, the construction zone is indeed narrow with the concrete barriers barely inches away from our trailer hitch. I slow down to 45 mph, grip the steering wheel tight and begin checking my mirrors constantly. Somehow after 12 miles, we make it through.
Now, night has settled in and still we have almost 2 hours to our destination. A rain storm suddenly hits and we struggle to see the white lines on the highway as rain pelts our windshield on the lonely stretch of highway. Making it through Chattanooga, you are exhausted and fall asleep as midnight approaches. Finally after another 30 minutes of driving we make it to our hotel for the night. Now we have to find a way to turn our massive vehicle around a dead end road where the hotel sits. We figure that out. Last of all, we had to figure out a way to park our massive 26 foot UHaul with the car transport so we can exit out the next morning. We figure that out. What a day. We flick a few more remaining ants off us.
At the end of the night, I lay in bed, and wrap my arms around you…
Our UHaul reservation was canceled. The other UHaul place messed up our order and we had no furniture pads. The gas tank was only ¼ full knowing we had a 7 hour ride ahead of us. The UHaul transport insurance on your car was null and void, please do not ask why. Our movers were running late by an hour. It meant we would not leave Jackson until 2 hours later than we desired. The weather, let’s not talk about the Mississippi weather; hot and humid with a forecast of hot and humid. Sweat dripped off me and the heat drained you. On a brighter note, we ourselves were running late due to our love for one another just the day before. In a frenzy, we packed as fast as we could. Finally, our movers were done and we were done. Already the beginnings of our exhaustion were setting in.
Down the highway we went. After hours on the road we spot a sign to stop for gas. Driving a 26 foot truck with an auto transport is no easy task because if we get stuck, there is no way out. The most stressful part is stopping somewhere for gas where we know we can pull in and out easy. The billboard said a stop for Love’s, a perfect place to fit a 26 foot truck and transport. We pull off the highway and make the turn. Then we see the place is still under construction and there is nowhere to turn this massive vehicle around. We may be struck. Making a quick decision, we pull into a bank parking lot to the right of the road. We soon realize there may not be a way out. The truck clearance to get through the ATM area and around the bank to the road is too low. However, there is about a foot clearance in the roofline to maneuver the truck around. Slowly I inch around the overhang with you directing me. We barely make it and with a sigh of relief we exit.
Our gas tank is almost on empty so we have to stop before we get back on the highway. There is another gas station and we decide to stop. After $99 worth of gas, I pull the UHaul around and we go grab a quick 15 minute bite to eat. 1 hour later, we exit. We never knew it took that long to make a hamburger. We pay, exit the restaurant, and head over to the UHaul. I open the cab door and discover an ant infestation; there are literally thousands of ants crawling all around the door frame. I mean they are everywhere, thousands and thousands of these little nuisances. There is nothing we can do other than try and swipe them off with my Clemson hat, which by the way, does absolutely no good because there are so many of them. We have never seen anything like this. With no other option, we decide to bear it and climb back in the UHaul cab. As we depart, ants crawl on us and we flick them off one by one with our fingers. Nothing like driving 70 mph down the highway while trying to swiping ants off our bodies; looking back it is a sort of funny mental picture to imagine. No so much then. We still have 3-4 hours of drive time.
Dusk begins settling in. The Alabama roads are bumpy making us feel like we are in an unbalanced washing machine. Making our way towards Gadsen, all of a sudden a sign tells us “Trucks longer than 12 feet must exit”. It requires a split decision even though we have no idea what the sign means. We exit and make the turn where the detour signs show us go. Slowly we make our way down the 2 lane road until we approach an intersection with 2 detour signs telling us to go in different directions. We have no idea which way to go. Stuck, we turn on the emergency signal lights and sit trying to make a decision. Not knowing what to do we pull into a convenience store and ask for help. After some tentative advice, we take a sigh and head back to the interstate. As we make our way back onto the interstate, we notice there is construction and the lanes do indeed narrow. However, we are able to make our way through the entrance zone so we have no idea why the sign was there in the first place telling us to exit. Anyways, the construction zone is indeed narrow with the concrete barriers barely inches away from our trailer hitch. I slow down to 45 mph, grip the steering wheel tight and begin checking my mirrors constantly. Somehow after 12 miles, we make it through.
Now, night has settled in and still we have almost 2 hours to our destination. A rain storm suddenly hits and we struggle to see the white lines on the highway as rain pelts our windshield on the lonely stretch of highway. Making it through Chattanooga, you are exhausted and fall asleep as midnight approaches. Finally after another 30 minutes of driving we make it to our hotel for the night. Now we have to find a way to turn our massive vehicle around a dead end road where the hotel sits. We figure that out. Last of all, we had to figure out a way to park our massive 26 foot UHaul with the car transport so we can exit out the next morning. We figure that out. What a day. We flick a few more remaining ants off us.
At the end of the night, I lay in bed, and wrap my arms around you…
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