‘OVERHEAD ERECTION’ & OTHER ROAD TRIP MEMORIES

6 years ago at the time this posts (10p US central), on this very day (Friday), on this very date (09/18), I had been at my hotel for the evening in Kearney NE for ~1 hour. The next-to-last day of my 2009 Route 66 road trip was ending.

No matter the season, the 2-word phrase “road trip” sparks thoughts of my dreams & wishes, as well as memories of road trips past, including memorable family excursions “back in the day”. I dream of road trippin’ 24/7/365 to see people & places, but for now, memories & future road trip ideas must suffice.

I’m reminded of the 2 “extended weekend” road trips I took in March 2003, after my January 2003 open heart surgery: 1 to western, central & eastern IL, & the other to northern Indiana & lower Michigan.

I flash back to my first “solo” western road trip, October 2004, when I met several people at the ValveReplacement Reunion in Golden CO, & then later, in New Mexico, met the famous “Crazy Bill” of the Monte Carlo Mailing List, who died a few years later.

I’m reminded of my eastern road trip, August 2005, during which I discovered sweet tea CAN be made incorrectly. That year, I drove in a “circle” from IL to Memphis TN, to Birmingham AL, up the east coast via Charlotte & Virginia, then through Pennsylvania to Michigan, & back, where the longest drive was that last drive home.

I remember my October 2006 jaunt out west, though not nearly as far west as 2 years prior. But, it was this trip that made 1 of the most-memorable impressions when I discovered, while at dinner in Oklahoma City OK, that a friend of mine I had just met in person that night, that I had known for years through ChevyTalk, had been taught by my grandfather “back in the day” & knew my mom, aunt & uncles. I stay in touch with Dennis as often as possible, & saw him last in 2011 when I stopped in Oklahoma City OK during my “Coast-to-Coast” trip.

I shiver when I think of my November 2007 trip, but only because of that last leg home. Not only was it cold, it was icy & snowy, mostly icy. Driving up to the Chicago area from southern IL was NOT a treat that day. Still, the memories I made along that trip, from Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida & Alabama, helped keep me a bit warmer for those hours.

I flash back to August 2008, when I traveled east once again around our family’s reunion in Pennsylvania.

I wistfully remember my September 2009 adventure along famed Route 66. All the people I met & stay in touch with to this day, along with all of the places I saw made the slow pace (compared to my previous trips) WELL worth it. Difficult to believe several people I met those couple weeks are now no longer alive.

I recall my November 2009 jaunt south, as well as my August 2010 road trip to the northeast, including Boston & famed Fenway Park, as well as a show with the NY MC Club, which made my hope for an active group in Illinois that much more fervent. A stop in the Philadelphia area provided a memorable evening, when a kid learning how to drive nearly backed into me…!

2011’s road trip was the 1st time I literally drove “Coast-to-Coast” with a stop in Pennsylvania the first weekend for the MC Nationals & GM Nationals, including the 1st Gen MC Club’s Eastern Meet. That Sunday, I drove all the way back to Illinois to start a stretch along Route 66, then visits in Wichita KS, Oklahoma City OK & Dallas TX, before heading northwest via Colorado, Salt Lake City UT & Sacramento CA. I drove through Oregon & Washington before turning my rental 2011 Dodge Charger back east towards home via Idaho (for the 1st Gen MC Club’s Western Meet), Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota (pool party at a cousin’s home!) & Wisconsin.

Yet, with all of those memories, that 2-word phrase also reminds me of a particular trip, forever etched in my memory due to the sheer strangeness of the jaunt. Mid-August 1998. A day or so prior, my parents headed to Pennsylvania for our family reunion. The plan was for my sister & I to travel together to Pennsylvania Friday night, after I was done with work, arriving at our cousin’s home around midnight to 1a local time. That was the plan….

It started out innocently; we packed my car & took off. The initial sign that something was going to be amiss the entire trip came as we traveled through Chicago. Suddenly, while driving down the Chicago expressway system (though “expressway” is used loosely), my tan car became orange. Yes, orange. Not bright orange, but a faint hint of orange, caused by an orange dust that appeared out of no where.

Because we left later than planned, we arrived at the home of friends in Indiana WAY later than scheduled. Dinner at their house was on the schedule, but that was not to be, as a road leading to their house was bypassed due to an accident in a road construction zone. Traffic, for “small town Indiana”, was horrific. When we finally arrived, it was nearly 9p local time. We considered staying & driving the rest of the way in the morning, but some discussion later & a replenishing of some supplies, we were back on the road. Sort of.

Leaving their house, we got turned around & went the wrong direction … for not TOO long of a time. Then, when we arrived in central Indiana to get onto I-70, the ramp we needed to go east was closed. Instead, we had to go west on I-70 for nearly a half hour, then follow the detour signs back to east-bound I-70.

Luckily, the trip through Ohio was uneventful, & I don’t remember all of it. Shortly after entering Ohio, we made a “quick” pit stop, & my sister took over driving. All was well through Ohio & into Pennsylvania, until we got to the turnpike. The second we entered the turnpike from the onramp, we spotted a police car with its lights flashing, turned FACING traffic with its headlights on, blinding both of us for a split second. A few minutes later, we found ourselves in the middle of the world’s longest parking lot. Traffic on the Pennsylvania turnpike was stopped cold, with no way out.

I don’t remember exactly how long we were there, but we were there long enough to get out of the car, stretch our legs, talk to some truckers, & bemoan the situation with fellow vehicle occupants. By this time, my sister & I were thoroughly tired & realizing that we probably should’ve called Dad & Mom earlier in the evening, but we really thought we’d be there by 1 or 2 in the morning. We didn’t make it, nor did we call our cousins, with whom we all were staying, to let them know of our delays. At this time, nearly 3 in the morning, we didn’t think it such a good idea to call now. So, we waited.

Once traffic FINALLY started moving, somewhere ~3:15a, it moved slowly. Nearly 15 minutes later, we saw what the issue had been. In capital letters on one of those electronic signs you see in construction zones were these 2 words: “OVERHEAD ERECTION”.

My sister & I both burst out laughing! What else could we do?

The rest of the drive was uneventful, & we finally stumbled into our cousin’s home ~4:30a. We were greeted at the door by our very worried cousin, who scolded us relentlessly. Mom & Dad? They were both sound asleep!