We decided we would head from our home here in South West Florida up to Atlanta, GA. Then from Atlanta to Birmingham, AL. After Birmingham we headed back to Atlanta. Then up to Charlotte, NC, then down to Ellerbe, NC. Next stop was Hamlet, NC then it was home to FL.
The trip lasted about 2 1/2 weeks and we had an awesome time.
When mom first informed me of the possibility of this trip I was pretty excited. I mean who is not excited about the possibility of a ROAD TRIP! Not to say that I wasn't slightly bummed when I found out we would miss some activities that I had been looking forward to. I tried my best to work it out for the happiness of everyone involved. And failed. Oh well, if I could do it all over again I still wouldn't have stayed home!
Another up side to this trip was all of the opportunities to earn points for the Beyond the Reflection's Edge contest. Everything about my summer so far keeps coming back to that doesn't it? :D
All of the bookstore pictures you spotted in my last post were taken while we were on this trip.
I had the camera out while we were on the road. Hand me a digital camera and live to regret it. :D
The clouds were so pretty. As you can see in the shots above and below.
The problem came when they started to look like that.
I don't know how many of you know my mom. But those of you who do can testify that she will not and above all CAN NOT drive in a storm. Big or small it doesn't matter (though small is better). To bad for us. Because the afternoon thunderstorm we experienced right before we crossed the FL state line was NOT tiny in the least.
It looks dreary over there.
And as the rain starts to come down mom starts to freak out. Look at the view out of my window. This picture was taken shortly before mom decided it was time to stop for lunch. :D
We are on the road again. The sky is clear...enough. And it's not raining!
I take pictures of myself when I'm bored.
Look it's a city!
Destination #1: Reached
Tomorrow I'll post more about our 1st and a little about out 2nd destination. For now I want to leave you with just one of the many experiences we had on the first leg of our journey. As a side note- my dad was not with us on our drive from Naples to Atlanta.
-------------------
With a flash a giant bolt of lightning shot across the sky. Booming thunder followed. The noise seemed almost deafening.
"Severe thunderstorms move across certain Florida counties." A jolly voice bellowed from the radio.
"Ho ho ho and a Merry Christmas." My goofy brother mimicked the man from the backseat.
My two youngest siblings seemed oblivious to the potential horror building around us.
"Don't let the rain come. Please don't let the rain come." I mumbled under my breath.
Glancing out of the corner of my eye I watched my mom. With a nervous look on her face she waited while one of the employees of the drive through Starbucks finished ringing up our purchase.
The radio continued to blare details about the approaching storm.
"She's a big one alright. Sheets of rain, massive lightning, and don't let me forget those heart pounding explosions of thunder. This one is turning out to be pretty harsh folks."
The announcer continued to talk, this time naming exact counties.
"Excuse me."
I turned at the sound of my moms voice. She was speaking to the employee.
"What county are we in?"
After receiving an answer my mom was overjoyed to hear it wasn't one of the names listed on the radio. She thanked the girl, grabbed our drinks and sped away. Even as is started to drizzle she kept up her cheery outlook. As she pointed our mini van in the direction of the interstate I was quick to speak up.
"Mom, I don't think we should continue. Why don't we wait out the storm?"
"Oh I think it's fine. This is only a little shower and I think we will move out of the storm after a few miles."
"Are you sure? I don't think we should take any chances."
"Sure I'm sure. It's only rain after all."
Only rain. Oh please. This is not going to be pretty.
Seconds after our car pulled onto the freeway the heavens opened and torrents of huge droplets pelted our windshield making it impossible to see. Mom started shaking, the kids became as still as stones, and I didn't have the heart to say, "I told you so".
At that very moment, mom's cell rang.
I quickly answered it so the noise wouldn't brake her concentration. "Hello."
"Bryce, can I speak to your mom please." Dad's calm voice sounded in my ear.
How can he be calm in the middle of this crisis? By the look on her face that was mom's thought too as she grabbed the phone out of my hand and listen to whatever it was daddy had to say.
Mere moments into the conversation the rain began to pelt the van twice as hard as it had before.
"I'VE GOT TO GO!" Mom screamed before dropping the phone and placing both hands on the steering wheel.
My mother looked on the verge of hysteria.
My brothers and sister stared, wide eyed. Shocked that their mommy would dare go crazy in the middle of such a humongous catastrophe.
As for my dad, who knows what he was thinking.
And me, I was just wondering how I got myself into this mess.
-------------------
Remember not to take every word of this account literally. It is from my point of view after all. Just know that the basic story is the truth. :D
And yes we made it out alive. Mom found us a cozy BBQ place and we spent a hour and a half waiting out the storm. Fun.
Check back tomorrow to learn even more about my crazy summer.
Lynds%3D).jpg)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment