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FE - The road adventure
15 years ago
General
Originally, I was supposed to spend the night with some friends in Kingston on Thursday and then drive to Toronto on Friday. When said friends called me Wednesday saying they were really sick, I made a quick change of plans and decided to show up at the hotel a day early. I managed to leave Ottawa by 3, and got to Toronto around 8.
In the pitch dark. In a heavy downpour. With transport trucks all around. (Thankfully, I made it safely, and the rest of the con was history.)
You would think that would be the last road adventure for this trip. If only...
Sunday, I decided to stop by Kingston on my way home. Though it was REALLY hard to leave the hotel, I still managed to get back on the road by roughly 3pm. Plenty of time for a 2-1/2 drive up the highway.
The weather was fine. It being Sunday meant traffic wasn't too bad either.
At least, until Belleville.
There was a detour. A sign, "Highway closed, 8 km ahead". I tried the 'information radio station' - dead air. O.O I stopped for some gas, since I had the feeling I'd need it.
2km before this 'detour', I ran into traffic. Stupidly, I stayed in the slow lane for a while. I think I was even passed by another car with furries in it - either that, or some woman was wearing a fur hat inside her car. Changing lanes, I managed to gain some ground until finally reaching the off-ramp. That took about an hour.
It took at least another 45 minutes to find out how to get back on. They had shut down the highway, BUT DIDN'T PUT UP ANY SIGNS ON WHERE TO GO. I don't know Belleville! I just tried following other cars... which I knew ouldn't work when I looked and saw that no one was following me. O.O
I drove through Belleville, spying ONLY one sign saying that the 401 was straight ahead. Finally I found another one saying go left now. It was either this, or keep driving to Kingston on this weird backroad that I've never been on which would have taken at least another hour.
Eventually, I made it back to the highway. I didn't get to my friend's place until about 8:15pm.
The drive on Monday wasn't quite so eventful, but just as stressful. I needed to be back around 3:00 to sign some papers related to selling my house. A mix-up at the end, though, meant that I didn't leave until 1:30 - and it's a two-hour drive minimum. *sigh* Thankfully, the realtor called me on the road and said she was late too. I barrelled as fast as I could, and managed to get there just before 4. :)
All is well, and I'm SOOOOO glad I bought my new car a few months ago (since my old SUV would have eaten up a ton of gas with all this extra driving.) All things considered, I'm glad for the experience - but next time I might bring a friggin' GPS. :P
In the pitch dark. In a heavy downpour. With transport trucks all around. (Thankfully, I made it safely, and the rest of the con was history.)
You would think that would be the last road adventure for this trip. If only...
Sunday, I decided to stop by Kingston on my way home. Though it was REALLY hard to leave the hotel, I still managed to get back on the road by roughly 3pm. Plenty of time for a 2-1/2 drive up the highway.
The weather was fine. It being Sunday meant traffic wasn't too bad either.
At least, until Belleville.
There was a detour. A sign, "Highway closed, 8 km ahead". I tried the 'information radio station' - dead air. O.O I stopped for some gas, since I had the feeling I'd need it.
2km before this 'detour', I ran into traffic. Stupidly, I stayed in the slow lane for a while. I think I was even passed by another car with furries in it - either that, or some woman was wearing a fur hat inside her car. Changing lanes, I managed to gain some ground until finally reaching the off-ramp. That took about an hour.
It took at least another 45 minutes to find out how to get back on. They had shut down the highway, BUT DIDN'T PUT UP ANY SIGNS ON WHERE TO GO. I don't know Belleville! I just tried following other cars... which I knew ouldn't work when I looked and saw that no one was following me. O.O
I drove through Belleville, spying ONLY one sign saying that the 401 was straight ahead. Finally I found another one saying go left now. It was either this, or keep driving to Kingston on this weird backroad that I've never been on which would have taken at least another hour.
Eventually, I made it back to the highway. I didn't get to my friend's place until about 8:15pm.
The drive on Monday wasn't quite so eventful, but just as stressful. I needed to be back around 3:00 to sign some papers related to selling my house. A mix-up at the end, though, meant that I didn't leave until 1:30 - and it's a two-hour drive minimum. *sigh* Thankfully, the realtor called me on the road and said she was late too. I barrelled as fast as I could, and managed to get there just before 4. :)
All is well, and I'm SOOOOO glad I bought my new car a few months ago (since my old SUV would have eaten up a ton of gas with all this extra driving.) All things considered, I'm glad for the experience - but next time I might bring a friggin' GPS. :P
The offer for coffee or whatever stands :) any time you are in town just shoot me a message :)
prplhaze
In all seriousness, at least you're a prepared motorist. Fueling up, taking breaks, trying to find the traffic radio. Nice to know you aren't the jerk who passes everyone on the shoulder while watching a DVD.
Sounds like the convention was a welcome (if not needed) break from the daily grind. Never put too much faith in a GPS, though. They like to show off the suburbs with their logic-defying suggested routes at times. Hope you're happy with the new wheels, too.
I don't generally need GPS, as I have a pretty solid internal sense of direction... but I'll keep that in mind. Don't want to end up turning into someone's flower bed :) I've never really needed one before - it probably would have just helped to calm me down a bit.
And yeah, my new car... OMG. Less than 1 tank of gas to get from Ottawa to Toronto. In the SUV, it would have needed filling up at least once on the way there. O.O Damn thing was a pig, I tell ya! Great carry space, but not worth the price.
I'm glad you are okay!
Drive home went really well, drive to the con.... um... snowstorm by Quebec made it fun.
Glad you had a safe trip home (and survived a blizzard on the way there!) How long were you on the road for? Did you drive straight through or did you stop on the way somewhere?
From Halifax to Anthrocon is only another 2 hours farther than this trip. Driven that twice. Next year for FE I'll probably fly, working 2 extra days instead of being in the car would pay for the plane ticket *lol*
Same cannot be said for anthrocon, round trip flight is over $550