If you’ve followed me on Facebook, you have probably guessed what my crazy story is about: Trying to outrun a hurricane in a rental car.
My little close foursome band had gone to Washington, DC, so our men could run the Marine Corps Marathon. I was supposed to run the marathon as well, but an ortho boot came along and I had to sit, sulkily, on the sidelines.
The marathon weather wasn’t bad – slightly chilly, slightly windy. But anyone watching the radar could tell that something not nice was on the horizon.
Midway through Saturday, the day before the marathon, I suggested that we think of alternatives. Hurricane Sandy was due to arrive sometime on Monday. Our flight was scheduled for Monday at noon. I figured our odds of getting out of DC weren’t good.
I looked at flights from every airport within a six-hour driving radius of the city – all were booked solid.
So I suggested the unthinkable: rent a car and drive back to Texas in a marathon all-day, all-night session. That would get us back in time for work on Tuesday and, in theory, allowed us to miss the storm-related bad weather (heavy rain, strong gusty wind and excessive snow).
The Boy and I had made a similar drive in 2006 and swore to never do it again. Yet here I was suggesting that we consider it.
We all looked at each other and agreed to commit to the insane plan.
We cancelled our flights, booked a car and went to bed to prepare for Sunday’s race.
The boys ran, the girls followed – then we shipped them through the showers while I went to pick up our car.
** I would just like to note that Alamo was the only rental car company that allowed us to do a one-way rental (DC to Dallas) for a reasonable rate. We paid $285 for a full-sized vehicle (an Altima) with unlimited miles, compared to the $700-850 that all of the other rental companies wanted to charge. **
We left our hotel at 3:30 pm, but it was a while before we were actually on the road. It’s a testament to our friendship that we’re still friends despite the first 30 minutes of our trip:
- Getting turned around in DC because the ramps to I-66 in both directions were closed
- Trying to make decisions without benefit of having eaten all day (the girls) and post-marathon brain (the boys)
- Taking many a wrong exit off the highway in search of food (see above)
- Driving on a gravel road to get back on the highway after yet another failed search for food
We finally did find food – that all of us could eat – as well as cell phone rechargers for the car and, unfortunately, a complete lack of bottled water. Restocked for an unexpected car trip (after a plane trip), we drove like crazy towards Texas.
We had to endure steady rain throughout much of Virginia, strong winds and sleet, but we made it out of the mountains to the safety of Knoxville, Tennessee, before midnight – the weather alerts’ targeted start time.
Words can not describe the physical pain that your body experiences around hour 10 of a 24-hour drive. You want to sleep, but you can not. You need to stay awake, but you can not. It’s like jet lag with none of the benefit of experiencing an exotic locale.
Yet again, it’s a testament to friendship that we’re still friends. We sang, told stories, slept, took turns driving, told stupid puns (sorry, S…they were really really bad!) and solved a good number of world problems.
We also decided that Pilot has the best trucker stops, you should always eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel and that Annie’s Bunny Grahams are delicious with Jif creamy peanut butter.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it – we had a crazy plan and we survived.