Home Again - After A Windy Road Trip

                                   (Thanks Google - Not The Truck I Saw)

Well I made it home, and I am on where near as tired as I was last week. Just been reading and catching up on the mail.

It is still cold in NY with a slight drizzle and frozen snow on the ground. The temperature will get above 32 degrees for awhile, just enough to melt some of the snow. Then drop again and freeze the runoff. This causes the snow to freeze smoothly and looks like porcelain.

However, as soon as I crossed into NJ, the sun came out and stayed out the rest of the trip. But, when I stopped in Winchester, VA for the night, the wind was up. I walked over to the Texas Steak House and Saloon for dinner. On the way back the wind was blowing and gusting so hard I looked like a drunk walking across the parking lot.

Again, this morning, when I drove to the gas station across the street from the motel to load up, the wind was blowing so hard I had to turn my back to it. I had to hold on to my cap and, because my back was to the wind, I passed the same fart five times before the gas tank was full.

Then back on I-81, there was a tractor trailer on it’s left side. The wind had just flipped it over. And I had to stay up on the wheel (NASCAR term for really holding on and paying attention.) As long as I was driving between hills, the wind was manageable, but, if you have ever driven thought the Shenandoah Valley, you know that there are many miles of flat or down grade country land on both sides of the road. The wind gust will give you a thrill like a ride at the fair.

I tried to stay in the right lane as much as possible (not were I like to drive) so I could have maneuvering room when the wind moved the van over. Once I was in the left lane passing a tandem semi (two trailers) when we came out from the protections of a wind break and he almost jacked-knife. The wind gust was shaking his trailers and he was heading for the left lane. I was over half way past him so I stomped on the gas to get by him to give him maneuvering room, but he pushed me into the grassy medium. I thought I was gonna turn over, but turned to the left to get back under control, then I got back on the road as soon as I cleared his cab. I looked in the mirror and he was giving me a thumbs up and a head shake to let me know how close we came to making a boo boo.

After that, the wind seem to die down and I was able to cruse on back to the Big A (or the Big W as the case may be.)

There always seems to be something happening on these trips. Keeps the driving interesting. But now I am driving my easy chair. Later on I will post some cute and funny animal pictures. But right now…zzzzzzzzzz