Road Weary

Two comments that brought a smile to my face this week:

He started out well. He knew his beverages. (In reference to a poor dining experience.)
For a hypochondriac, the view of a hospital is calming. (In reference to a window view.)



Yesterday I made my first trek up to see the boyfriend in his new place. The drive is right around a 6-hour round trip. Accomplished in one day, it is a bit tiring. However, it was worth it. Plus, I was able to help me bring some order into the chaos of moving in and I do love bringing order.

As I neared his place yesterday morning, an accident blocked all 4 lanes of the road I was travelling and all traffic was being directed onto a narrow, snow-covered street for a brief detour. While I don't enjoy detours in general, this time it was made worse because of the many, many semis that were joining all of us in this pass-by parade (traffic from the other direction was detoured through the same area, so we were passing on those narrow streets). I try to be an equitable driver and when a semi needed to turn the corner at a stop sign, I kept my car back from the intersection so he had room to turn. As he turned, his back wheels dipped into a ditch and I saw the truck sway my direction as if it wanted to tip over right onto the hood of my car. He kept turning and all of a sudden I realized that I was going to be crushed if I didn't start backing up really fast down that slippery road. Thankfully the person behind me wasn't very close. I narrowly escaped collision and then watched horrified as two more semis basically took advantage of my position and ran the stop sign, also coming very close to hitting my little Honda. I couldn't move. Then as a van turned I moved my car forward so I could continue on this unhappy, nowheart-pounding detour. But to no avail, another semi just blew through the stop sign and turned. I stared at the guy, threw up my hands, and talked loudly at him within my car as I backed my car up once again. He yelled out his window at me as if I was in the wrong and ridiculous for even thinking I should have any sort of right of way. I only made it through the intersection after that guy (who I glared out quite soundly), because the truck behind him had slid a slightly into the ditch and stopped all the traffic behind him. It was a bit disastrous.

Thankfully my drive home was much less eventful. It was dark and boring, but I did glimpse beautiful, soothing, twinkling stars. I even opened my moon roof cover and glanced up, but then I realized that the boyfriend would be horrified if he knew that I was looking up while driving at night, so I slid the stars out of view. But while I drove I pondered such things as the difference between picaresque (of or describing witty, amusing rogues or their adventures) and picturesque (visually charming as if resembling a painting). Lest you think these thoughts would more than likely put me to sleep rather than invigorate my mind, please realize I was also sporadically singing along with my iPod.