The Hardest Part About a Vacation is the Trip Back – Naomi Lynn’s 23 Hour Adventure
It's hard leaving behind a vacation and taking the drive back. But I guess no vacation would be complete without detours, unexpected stops, and a trip to the emergency room.
Don't get me wrong, a vacation to North Carolina for a week is awesome. Getting home is the hard part though, even if everything goes right. I had a few things that caused major delays - and turned a regular 12 hour (or so) trip into a 23 hour adventure. These are probably the five most notable reasons why the trip took so ridiculously long.
1 - Kitty Hawk
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina wasn't on the route back to New York, but it wasn't that far off either. Besides, if you're in North Carolina you might as well check out where the first airplane took flight.
Time Lost: 1 hr. 30 mins
2 - Traffic, Traffic, and More Traffic
So this happened everywhere (obviously, it was a long drive). But the most traffic packed areas were not the expected ones - areas along the 'back roads' in North Carolina (it actually was a highway, but it really didn't seem like it - it seemed like a regular two lane country road). Other areas where traffic got heavy included Chesapeake Bay, Virginia (right after this cool tunnel went under the water), and outside of Richmond, Virginia (which, that one was probably the most expected).
Time Lost: 2hrs.
3 - A Trip to the Emergency Room
Yes, no vacation is complete without a trip to the Emergency Room. The scariest part is having to call 911 on the side of a highway in a state where you don't know anything. My boyfriend (who was driving) all of a sudden couldn't breathe. We pulled over to the side of the highway where he ended up collapsing, and was trying to talk but parts of it didn't make any sense. I called 911 and an ambulance took him to the emergency room. Luckily it wasn't anything too serious (but that was SCARY!). And he was able to get all checked out, fixed up, and good to go, a few hours later.
Time Lost: 5hrs. 30mins
4 - Back Roads in Pennsylvania
A construction zone in Pennsylvania had our GPS reroute us off the highway. It didn't sound too bad, about 10 miles to avoid the area... but we were SO wrong. The new route took us on these back country roads through the mountains - winding narrow roads in the dark. It doesn't sound to bad, but when you can only go 20 to 30 mph because the roads are curving so bad (and climbing up mountains)... Well, let's just say that was the scariest driving I have ever done in my life. Ever!
Time Lost: 1hr.
5 - Wildlife That Seems to Like to Play in the Road
We were almost home! I've never been so exciting to see signs for Utica in my life. We were going around a curve on Route 12 when all of a sudden, a deer jumps in the road! Luckily we were able to stop in time (although it was pretty close). After that though, it was hard to drive at a normal speed - there were deer in tons of the fields we passed, and we didn't want anymore to jump out. We lost a lot of speed on the final stretch (which was just heartbreaking, when you're SO ready to be home).
Time Lost: 30 mins
TOTAL TIME LOST: 10 hrs. 30mins
Even with all the adventures on the way home from North Carolina, it was still completely worth it. We survived the trip, I'm back home, and I couldn't be happier!
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