The Highwayman

Sometimes, I think I should call myself as "The Highwayman". I don't ride up to an old inn door and probably lesser still is my chance of seeing the "landlord's black-eyed daughter, Bess the landlord's daughter"... maybe because I drive my car and not go "tlot-tlot" on my horse :p :p

 

During the Memorial Day (25th May 2009), I was driving on my way back from Ohio to New Jersey. Had to take a detour near a place called DuBois in PA. Good place it was, certainly. However, I believe we got stuck there at the wrong point in time. 

Given my not too past memories of getting a speeding ticket (more on that later!), it was an all out cautious drive. The speed limit for most part was 65 mph - a region where I might normally cruise at 80 mph. This time around, crossing 70 mph was a taboo. The already slow pace of travel notwithstanding, after a few hundred miles of travel, somewhere near the highest point on I-80, we hit a warning which said "Be prepared to stop. Roadwork for the next seventeen miles". Phew!! While every other vehicle was getting onto the left lane to merge and stay onto I-80, I gleefully touched the "detour" on the GPS.

"Recalculating", shouted that familiar lady voice, which would say "Drive ahead 100 ft and turn left" when I would have already crossed a mile from the point where she intends me to turn left :) There I was, taking an exit off to what seemed to me like a jungle. I had been at least two times earlier on I-80, both times driving from Ohio to Connecticut. But that was peak winter when the road to west was visible from the road to the east through those barren trees. Now, it was a bit different with the lush greenery. The west road was not visible from the east. And when I took the exit, I stopped at a signal where I couldn't even see the driveway.

"Turn left onto Pennsylvania 219 South" commanded the lady. I turned left. "Drive 3.5 miles and take left". And this was the place where the problem began for me. This is not a state highway. This didn't even look like a local road. It was all potholed and dusty. Mobile phones had already lost their signals - AT&T as well as T-Mobile.

I gently whispered to my friend Vinu, who seemed to be more lost in the winding roads to the woods than anything else, "Does 911 work from ANYWHERE in the United States??" That was the levels to which I was terrified. The road ahead was winding in all kinds of directions. We could see we were more like on a wild life safari. The headlights with a low beam just didn't help and I wasn't sure if I was allowed to turn the high beam on. We saw creatures (or should I say Vinu saw?) large and small crossing the roads.

I kept driving. I didn't know how much longer it might be before we hit some kind of a highway. The nearest town was something called "DuBois". I was in a state of despair and wanted to get there as quickly as possible. But that doesn't help. If it means that we need to be lost for a couple of more hours in this wilderness, nothing can be done about it..! 

After quite some time, I get in some township area. And what happens? I am again redirected - "drive 5 miles on so and so road"... I get onto the road, only to find that I am going from one wildlife safari experience to another. This road, I never even knew what was the speed limit. It had the dashed line markings permitting to pass which is a rarity as far as I know in my place at Connecticut. I was trying to keep myself to 40 mph when Vinu was stating I could try going at 50 mph at least. After quite a drive on the dark deserted highway, I hit some ramp for the I-80. All the while, thanks to my keen driving skills, I never noticed a truck was tailing me. I take the ramp to I-80 E. See a truck parked in the ramp. I stop. 

"Boooonk" came a sound. It was the truck behind me. I quick drive fast and get onto I-80 E. And thank God, it was SUCH a relief. Our mobile phones were still not having any signal. However, at least we are on a main road where we can pullover and seek assistance if need be.!!

After all these twists and turns, the lady in the car announced "Drive 125 miles on I-80 East" :) What a pleasure it was to merely HEAR TO IT after all these twists and turns through jungle pathways..!!