To make this manageable and also a comfortable length, I am splitting our trip into numerous segments. The first one will be sort of short – just getting us to our motel.
Kathy parked her car at my house, and we left my driveway at 1:57pm, 3 minutes ahead of our anticipated departure time. Yea! We had a quick prayer for safety and blessings, and set off toward our first stop, which was Budd Lake Super 8 Motel in New Jersey. We were driving a little more than half-way, 308 miles (5 hours or so). We also booked a room in the same motel for Wednesday night on the way home. We were comfortable with the location and knew the motel was clean, safe, and convenient. It was a good plan and we anticipated arrival at 7pm.
The day was sunny and bright and beautiful. We went up over the scenic mountains on Route 22 East, and swung over onto Route 220 North, a three-lane, high speed truck-laden highway. I strive to be a careful, alert driver, but I guess no one can anticipate everything. About two hours into the journey – stuck in the middle lane with vehicles on all sides – I looked up to see a huge chunk of a truck tire directly in front of me. I gripped the steering wheel and prayed. I could not stop or switch lanes or swerve. I just keep going. The thunk was horrid and I felt sick. I was shaking all over and my heart was racing. Had we been in a sedan and not an SUV I don’t know what would have happened. I checked the gages and the steering and brakes and everything was ok – but about 10 minutes later we heard a horrific clank and rattle.
I did not know if I should pull over or try to find an exit. The sound sort of came and went, so we kept going, with me watching the gages every second. I was still shaking and didn’t know if we would have to turn around, cancel our trip — it was terror for me. But we took the next exit, and tried to check the car. I could see a small piece hanging down about an inch, between the front wheels, but had no idea what it was. A very nice man pulled in beside us and asked the trouble. He checked everything out and said it was just a plastic shield that came loose and nothing was wrong. We might have to live with some noise but we were safe to travel and not worry. Kathy was rejoicing but I was still a wreck (pardon the pun). We drove about 5 miles and the noise totally quit.
It took a long time for me to settle down to a normal heart rate, but thankfully we had nice weather, traveled in the daylight, and kept the noise at bay. I truly believe God put an angel under that car to hold the shield in place and keep it quiet for the entire rest of the trip. We heard it once the whole trip – in the exact location on Route 220 South where it happened but coming home – and it was only for a few seconds. That little angel probably had dirt on its wings and a crumpled halo, but we were certainly thankful.
We played Christmas Trivia to keep occupied Sunday afternoon as I drove, and listened to some music and tried to come up with an agenda for our time in Newport. I was so thankful for Kathy’s support and calm, confident encouragement. I was never so glad to pull into a motel in my LIFE! I was so exhausted I was able to sleep, and we started out in the morning with sunshine and blue skies. I was still not relaxed but confident we would be able to carry through. God is good, all the time!
But – tomorrow IS another day, and starting tomorrow will be the fun and the photos and the fantastic time we had!
June 24 – Did you ever make mud pies? “Yes – we would make the mud pies & lay them up on a tin roof. They would get as hard as bricks. We knew where the best ‘dirt’ was to dig & mix up for our mud pies and cookies.” Doesn’t sound appetizing to ME!!! 🙂
The vacation destination posted on Father’s Day was Amish country, mostly Smicksburg PA. My dad LOVED visiting the Amish and had many, many close friends. Here are additional photos:
I took the last two….
Calendar Inspiration was so very appropriate for today’s post:
Quote –
Scripture –
Vacation Destination – I will be posting photos starting tomorrow of our OWN vacation, so I won’t be posting other destinations for a while!
TOMORROW June 25 is:
Tomorrow’s plans are up in the air. I have plenty to do so I’m hoping for a calm day! God bless!
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