Dear diary, this is what happened to me during my Thanksgiving vacation.
Last week at this time, I was driving down I-10 at about 75mph, coming back to Jacksonville.
We decided to surprise my family for Thanksgiving, so after Dana got off of work on Wednesday we left, driving through the night and getting to Lafayette at about 5am. I-10 is much prettier at night, mostly because you can't see as much around you. The trip there was uneventful except for nearly running out of gas at the I-10/I-12 Interchange, near New Orleans. The gas light was on and so we tried four seperate exits, looking for gas, but every time there was a gas station listed on the highway signs (CHEVRON 0.2M, BP 0.3M etc.), the stations were either closed (yet still fully lit) or destroyed. Remember, this was the area that Katrina hit, and the roads were still a mess. One of the exits we turned down had, without any warning, been closed about half a mile down, right beyond an utterly decimated gas station, in front of which a large congregation of policemen were vigorously investigating a man and the truck he was driving. As a matter of fact, there were lots of cops around, so I figured there had to be working gas stations somewhere. So I called 911, at 3am, looking for gas.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"Yes, we're on I-12 right past the I-10 exit and we're almost out of gas and every gas station is closed or destroyed."
"Yeah, we were hit by a hurricane and most places close early around here."
"So, is there anywhere we can get gas? We're almost out."
"Well, no one's going to bring you any." (I was, and still am, utterly confused by this remark.)
"Uh, so...gas stations?"
The lady started talking to someone in the background. "Are there any gas stations near," then she came back to me, "What exit are you at, sir?"
"Just passed exit 79."
"Exit 79," she continued to the person in the background.
A man started speaking: "Ok, go to exit 82, then take a right and head north for two miles, then take a left and another right and there will be a Shell station right there."
"You get that?" she asked me.
"Um, let me write it down..."
Dana decided to try exit 80 at this time. "Wait, we're trying exit 80 now."
"Oh, ok," the operator said. "If you can't find a gas station and break down, call us back and we'll send a unit out to drive you to a gas station."
"Uh, ok." Click.
Fortunately, exit 80 had a massive and fully-operational Shell station, which we decided was probably the same station to which the guy (whom we also decided was a bored and stupid cop) was trying to direct us. Once we had gotten there and filled up we noted that we'd driven for 26 miles with the gas light on.
It was fun sneaking into my parents' house and crashing on the couch. Fortunately no one was up to ruin the surprise (my dad suffers from the occassional bout of insomnia), and it was awesome waking up to the sound of my mom freaking out when she saw me on the couch. My dad was confused as hell when he woke up, and then he bearhugged me. All of my siblings were suitably excited as well, with the exception of Nate, who never seems to be happy or sad to see me come or go.
After getting a few more hours worth of sleep, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house and I got to surprise members of my extended family, eat lots of food, and uncerimoniously pass out on my cousin's bed. I also got to play with my godson, who is getting so big and talking so much it's not even funny. I even picked up a new phrase from him, since he said it all the time: "OH MAN!" in this really excited, high-pitched voice.
The rest of the trip we basically hung out with my family, which was great. Naturally I got roped into trying to fix their computers but I studiously did my best not to do too much. I don't want to be their computer tech enabler! I also got to hang out with Diane for a bit (and Dana got to meet her), and we had lunch with my grandfather, and I drove around Lafayette, showing Dana Old Tyme Grocery and UL and Lafayette High and everything. It was fun and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself as well. We took lots of pictures, most of which came out surprisingly well.
We left at about 8am Sunday morning and had another uneventful trip back. The tunnel in Mobile is a hell of a lot cooler at night, and they STILL haven't finished repairing the I-10 Eastbound bridge at Pensacola; it's down to one lane and it delayed us by about 45 minutes. But other than that it was all good and I'm glad it was possible, especially since I doubt we'll be able to go for Christmas.
P.S. My cell got suspended so I'm sorry if I haven't been able to call anyone back. Money's been tight; Florida is dragging their ass with the unemployment they owe me, and no one seems to want to hire me. I even got a haircut! but no-go. =(
We decided to surprise my family for Thanksgiving, so after Dana got off of work on Wednesday we left, driving through the night and getting to Lafayette at about 5am. I-10 is much prettier at night, mostly because you can't see as much around you. The trip there was uneventful except for nearly running out of gas at the I-10/I-12 Interchange, near New Orleans. The gas light was on and so we tried four seperate exits, looking for gas, but every time there was a gas station listed on the highway signs (CHEVRON 0.2M, BP 0.3M etc.), the stations were either closed (yet still fully lit) or destroyed. Remember, this was the area that Katrina hit, and the roads were still a mess. One of the exits we turned down had, without any warning, been closed about half a mile down, right beyond an utterly decimated gas station, in front of which a large congregation of policemen were vigorously investigating a man and the truck he was driving. As a matter of fact, there were lots of cops around, so I figured there had to be working gas stations somewhere. So I called 911, at 3am, looking for gas.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"Yes, we're on I-12 right past the I-10 exit and we're almost out of gas and every gas station is closed or destroyed."
"Yeah, we were hit by a hurricane and most places close early around here."
"So, is there anywhere we can get gas? We're almost out."
"Well, no one's going to bring you any." (I was, and still am, utterly confused by this remark.)
"Uh, so...gas stations?"
The lady started talking to someone in the background. "Are there any gas stations near," then she came back to me, "What exit are you at, sir?"
"Just passed exit 79."
"Exit 79," she continued to the person in the background.
A man started speaking: "Ok, go to exit 82, then take a right and head north for two miles, then take a left and another right and there will be a Shell station right there."
"You get that?" she asked me.
"Um, let me write it down..."
Dana decided to try exit 80 at this time. "Wait, we're trying exit 80 now."
"Oh, ok," the operator said. "If you can't find a gas station and break down, call us back and we'll send a unit out to drive you to a gas station."
"Uh, ok." Click.
Fortunately, exit 80 had a massive and fully-operational Shell station, which we decided was probably the same station to which the guy (whom we also decided was a bored and stupid cop) was trying to direct us. Once we had gotten there and filled up we noted that we'd driven for 26 miles with the gas light on.
It was fun sneaking into my parents' house and crashing on the couch. Fortunately no one was up to ruin the surprise (my dad suffers from the occassional bout of insomnia), and it was awesome waking up to the sound of my mom freaking out when she saw me on the couch. My dad was confused as hell when he woke up, and then he bearhugged me. All of my siblings were suitably excited as well, with the exception of Nate, who never seems to be happy or sad to see me come or go.
After getting a few more hours worth of sleep, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house and I got to surprise members of my extended family, eat lots of food, and uncerimoniously pass out on my cousin's bed. I also got to play with my godson, who is getting so big and talking so much it's not even funny. I even picked up a new phrase from him, since he said it all the time: "OH MAN!" in this really excited, high-pitched voice.
The rest of the trip we basically hung out with my family, which was great. Naturally I got roped into trying to fix their computers but I studiously did my best not to do too much. I don't want to be their computer tech enabler! I also got to hang out with Diane for a bit (and Dana got to meet her), and we had lunch with my grandfather, and I drove around Lafayette, showing Dana Old Tyme Grocery and UL and Lafayette High and everything. It was fun and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself as well. We took lots of pictures, most of which came out surprisingly well.
We left at about 8am Sunday morning and had another uneventful trip back. The tunnel in Mobile is a hell of a lot cooler at night, and they STILL haven't finished repairing the I-10 Eastbound bridge at Pensacola; it's down to one lane and it delayed us by about 45 minutes. But other than that it was all good and I'm glad it was possible, especially since I doubt we'll be able to go for Christmas.
P.S. My cell got suspended so I'm sorry if I haven't been able to call anyone back. Money's been tight; Florida is dragging their ass with the unemployment they owe me, and no one seems to want to hire me. I even got a haircut! but no-go. =(