I love going on vacation. I am ready at a moment's notice. I really look forward to it and wish that every day was a vacation. For some that know me, they might say that I have the life of Riley and that I already have every day as a vacation day. In a way, that is true. For quite some time I have had the opportunity to do whatever I wish, within reason, in any time frame that I choose, and however I choose to do it. That's been a blessing and a curse though.Let me pick up where I left off..............After staying a few days in Leander, Texas........we loaded up the van..........me, Supernurse, Noodle, Expansion Pack 2.1, Mayor Of Simpleton, and Princess Fartknocker.............and we hit the road headed for Tennessee for the Fourth Of July weekend. I would have liked to have left a bit sooner because Texas was getting some outer bands of the hurricane that was beginning to pound the Texas-Mexico border. All in all, it was a minor event and not that big of a deal.......it just meant that I would have to encounter some heavy downpours at some point early in our journey........and we were gonna be driving at night and overnight. I had precious cargo and I am very careful and aware of that cargo.With each day of life, as mundane as it often is, you never really know what to expect......things happen......surprises are had.....and life is a rollercoaster. My rollercoaster days are behind me.....my health has ensured that.......and as harrowing a rollercoaster ride would be for me, I found myself smack dab on a ride that I will never forget.We were on the Interstate, just south of Waco......headed north........it was almost dark, the sun was setting to the west........and I could see some dark clouds ahead. It was part of one of those rain bands from the hurricane system............hopefully, it would just be a brief drive through it and then clear sailing the rest of the way..............and actually, that is exactly how it was.........very brief........maybe 15 minutes of driving through it.Those 15 minutes now seem as if it was hours..................let me explain.Heavy downpours of rain........visibilty not good at all........every vehicle has their flashers on........top speed maybe 20-25 mph..............but everything is coasting along. Lots of lightning too. At the time, I would have like to have taken the next exit and waited it out.......but I couldn't see any exits...........so I kept moving along..............and the rain died down quite a bit........we continued on...........whew!..........we got through it.........so traffic speed goes up to about 55 mph.........I am in the fast lane so that I can get past some slower tractor trailers and right as I get past them, I see a police car entering from a ramp and merging into traffic. Naturally, everybody slows down in fear of a ticket...........I stay at 55 mph.........but I slow down a little and move over to the right lane because I can see that the police car had moved over to the fast lane and was pacing behind me. No problem.Just ahead there was a small rise in the roadway...........maybe like a bridge or overpass.......could have been just an elevation of some sort...........I slowed down........the road was wet, it was still raining, but not very hard, and I could not see what was over that hill........so I am cautious...........I look in the rear view mirror and I see the trucks.........they seemed a fair distance back from us..................I reach the top of the hump in the road and................traffic is stopped!!!!!!There was nowhere for me to go...............I didn't know that I could bring the van to a stop in time.........the tractor trailer in front of us was not moving anywhere and there was nowhere to go to the left......I aimed for the shoulder of the road.......but there was only about five feet between the guardrail and the truck.......no room for us to fit............In a flash, I am trying to stop our van without losing control......and yet I keep looking into the rear view mirror at the truck behind me.That truck is moving side to side and getting closer and closer. It was a big pickup truck pulling a boat on a trailer........and the driver..........is trying his darndest to stop from hitting us.........if I had somewhere to go I would have.....all I could do was bring the van to a stop to within an inch of the tractor trailer's right rear corner with the guardrail next to us. It was this moment.......this one moment that I was still looking back begging the pickup truck driver, as if he could hear me......"Put the hammer down!.......Please STOP.....PLEASE STOP!!!!!". Somehow.....someway.........we weren't all killed. We would have been completely crushed..........my precious cargo and me.....gone in a flash.
We all could hear the tires trying to grab the roadway.......his front grill looked as if it was gonna come through the rear window of the van..................the sound was like a monster..............and a miracle happened.............he stopped! Jesus God he stopped!...............everything stopped. My daughter Noodle said "Good job Daddy!"Maybe it was the cop that caused the traffic behind me to slow down enough that enable them to stop.........maybe .............maybe because I slowed enough myself to be able to stop in time.........maybe .............everything and everybody was firing on all cylinders enough to be able to deal with it..........maybe...............either way.........it had to be divine intervention.Needless to say...........I looked at everyone in the van.............just the look in their eyes spoke volumes....................and I managed to get the van around that tractor trailer.......apparently it could not move......the brakes must have locked up..............about 500 feet ahead we could see that there was an accident that caused the backup..............we continued up the highway for another 15 minutes or so and then I pulled into a gas station/convenience store............whoa.......I had to take a breather..........and everyone had to piss really bad............surprisingly nobody had shit themselves.Stuff like this is a game changer.............one moment and everything comes into its proper perspective.
We finally made it to Tennessee.................and my mom was very happy to have all of us there. She had no idea what we had to go through to get there. Maybe we told her and it just didn't register.................you cannot really know unless you experience it.
Speaking of experiencing things..............My sister EBCBEBR puts all sorts of photographs on her dining room walls..........that way everybody can look at them when they visit..........I love that.........and look.......Princess Fartknocker posed for a picture right next to a picture of her mommy!
Yep..........her mommy.......my daughter Annie Warbucks.
It was great to see everyone..........and, of course, it was also great to have a family jam session.Me?......I mess around with the guitar a bit............
My sister has a set of drums...........the Mayor of Simpleton did pretty good......I was surprised.
My niece's son Jimi Skynyrd has gotten quite good on guitar.........if he keeps at it he might just be able to be in a band.
Everybody got into the act............singing and playing.........
.........and texting.
My brother-in-law Bobert Titanfan...........he is so good playing keyboards that he can do it while he sleeps...........no kidding..........he was asleep when I shot this picture.
Bobert's brother Tombert is a drummer..........but lately he honing his guitar prowess by playing guitar in a band with Bobert. He is alot of fun to be around and is a really good person.........and extemely talented.So what did we all play? Smoke On The Water..........some Cars stuff..........Beatles.......Sweet Home Alabama........etc etc.Stay tuned folks.......there's more to come.
That's me in the mirror.......taking the picture of Supernurse.
We went to the Loveless Motel........uh....er.......Cafe.
Huh?........a motel?.........to eat?.......you got to be kidding......right?
The walls are covered with autographed photos of the famous people who have dined here. Some came just for the biscuits that they serve.
Even Miley Cyrus has been here.
And now WE have been there. I didn't see any celebrities while we were there but supposedly financial guru Dave Ramsey was there in another room. The food was great but I didn't eat anything that I could actually say was the best I had ever had. I CAN say that it was like home cooking except this home was once a motel.
In a way it was like sitting in front of the milk and soda cooler at the 7-11...........but here, they have the honor system in place..........you want a drink with your food?.....pick something out of the cooler......drink it.....throw the empty away......and then head to the cashier and tell them what you had. Imagine trying to do THAT in a 7-11 store.
There was also an upstairs shop above what you see in this photo.
Another place we had a meal was the Catfish Campus in Columbia...............I love catfish!
