The Last Lap

And finally some good driving news. After dealing with not one but two traffic jams, one in Georgia due to an accident (that backed up traffic for hours even a lunch at Waffle House did not give time to clear), and another one in South Carolina due to bridge construction. I did not see any work men, just piece of concrete with black plastic on it. That backup took an hour to go three (3) miles. Lovely. A 7 hour trip took 9, so I was glad to stop for dinner and sleepy time at the Comfort Inn in Fayetteville.

Today I left at 7:00 am and rolled through the rest of North Carolina, and into Virginia before facing the sign that read: "ACCIDENT AHEAD USE CAUTION ALL LANES BLOCKED". Use CAUTION?!!? how can you use anything sitting at a dead stop since ALL LANES were blocked. This was while I was at Exit 70 with the accident after 84. 14 miles. Hmmmm, I thought, if only I could figure a way around this mess, but I am about to travel through the heart of Richmond, Virginia. If only I could find a place to work, to eat, to tinkle, cause I ain't sitting at a dead stop with a bladder still full of those two cups of coffee.

By the time I went past the brick clock tower in Richmond right next to 95 Northbound I was at Exit 74. Oooh, 10 miles. Then out of downtown. Exit 77 no food signs (7 miles). Then ATTRACTIONS MUSEUMS POINTS OF INTEREST (How about a rest room?) Exit 80 (4 MILES) 81 (3 MILES!!) 82 McFreaking Donalds! Eureka. I put off the exit with only two (2) miles to go before running into the blockade of cars. I whip into Mickey D's and grab a McMuffin and cup of coffee (comfort food) and check my Google Maps on my iPhone 6. I find my blinking dot and I play with the screen to make it bigger and what do you think I find? I AM ON 301!. I ask the clerk if this is 301 and they confirm. Why? Because 301 runs North/South. And sure enough I make my magic screen move to the north and guess what? It merges with 95 down the road. FOUR MILES DOWN THE ROAD at Exit 86 which just so happens to be two miles ahead of the accident!

I share my findings with a half dozen people who ask if they can follow me, but I tell them, "Look, that's 301. Turn left out of here, follow it to 295, keep heading north until you see signs for 95 north again, and you will be past the accident. I did my good deed for the day, and grabbed my muffin and the rest is history. Another Road Trip added to the annals of Frankdom