Rested, recouped and recovered...

Monday, November 22, 2010

Oh my, yesterday was interesting...that's the best way to put it. We got a slow start to the day, sleeping in a bit to recoup from hours on our feet at the Blue Ridge Log Cabin factory tour. We hit the road about 11:30.

It was a beautiful day and I started snapping some shots of the scenery. Nothing spectacular but pretty just the same. We thought we have about a 2 hour ride ahead of us. Little did we know...


All it takes is one turn...and you are committed. For anyone that has forgotten or doesn't know, we are almost 60' long when traveling. We weigh about 25k pounds combined. We are 13' high. We are not your average little trailer....LOL!

So, the GPS directed us to turn. I looked at the road and my stomach fell. I just had a feeling that this wasn't a good idea. Once we made the turn, the adventure began. Narrow, twisting roads that barely had room for us at times. No shoulders or worse, ditches in the place of shoulders...on both sides!


Just when we thought it couldn't get worse...we hit a construction zone. The road was so narrow that we hit every cone on the center line. I watched one get kicked out behind us and go tumbling down the hill (better than US going down the hill...). No sign of workers, just several miles of cones.


Then as we rounded a corner we spotted the workers...they were definitely incredulous. When we passed the third truck, a worker sitting on the back waved and hollered something at us about losing the trailer... I don't blame him, there were turns where I wondered how we were going to make it. At one point the trailer went off the edge of the pavement and dipped way over and back up again. I dreaded to see what happened inside...

There was no place to turn around, no place to turn off, no cell phone service to let our friends know we were running late. Stu did wonderfully...Sadie was terrific considering she was overdue for a potty break...me, I was a basket case. I tried not to stress Stu, that meant just closing my eyes and trusting. Phew!

Eventually we came out onto better roads, the kind we should have been on...but we found a pull-out where we can get off the side of the road for potty breaks. Stu found this underneath the trailer...LOL!


Still no cell service but in about 10 minutes we were at our friend's house. DOUBLE Phew! We got backed in, unloaded the bikes and finished setting up. Too late for a ride, we headed into town in their car for a nice evening of good food and great conversation.


I was exhausted and so was Stu...we slept hard and eventually got up and ready for today. We knew we were riding but had no idea when or where. After talking to Arthur and Irene it was decided to take a ride into town for lunch, via scenic roads, and then back where we would pack up Sadie and go for another ride.

Arthur and Irene are from Massachusetts...in fact, they lived in a town right around corner from where I was born and spent the first 15 years of my life. They retired and moved to Greeneville, TN almost two years ago. They have never looked back. Recently they traded in both of their motorcycles and got a 2011 Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide. It's a beauty!


Both rides were wonderful....the first was about 75 miles out and back and the second maybe 50 miles out and back. As usual Sadie loved it...we stopped at A&W and went inside. We got a table where we could see her. She sat there and behaved so wonderfully, looking around, watching people and being good. We will do that more often, always where we can watch her and see how she does.

We head out in the morning, back to Jamestown. We've had a great time here and will be back...heck, we have a 50 amp hookup! LOL! Oh, we got a call from our excavator today...they laid the gravel. So we'll see how that looks on Wednesday...glad they beat the upcoming rain.

We have dinner in Cookeville with friends from Sparta (my old neighbors). It will be a late night after a travel day...doubt I will blog. Back on Wednesday for sure!

Forgot to mention...the only damage was the microwave opening up and everything stored in there fell out. Oh, and the revolving glass dish...shattered. That was fun cleaning up...NOT! There were a lot of other scattered items, but nothing else damaged. Another phew!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

12 comments:

  1. We all dread getting into those situations. I guess the only thing worse would be rounding a corner and seeing a 11' bridge clearance.

    Glad you made it without any serious damage.

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  2. So glad that I'm not the only one that closes her eyes to keep from freaking out :) Glad Stu got you out safely and that you were able to meet your friends and get some riding in.

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  3. What a scary ride! I get too tense when the roads get like that.

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  4. Ended up on a road like that back east and I was such a mess. Poor Jim took such good care of us but all I wanted to do was cry. Glad you guys are okay.

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  5. Good for Stu - nerves of steel! Glad there was a decent road at the end.

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  6. So glad to read the ending and know that you made it safely. We have had a couple of those types of roads and they are no fun. I am a basket case as well. One time last Fall when we were on our way to Montana Ron told me to take one of my Lorazapam's (anxiety pills) because I was talking so much and so rattled.

    Hope your return trip is not as eventful.

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  7. So, you're not going to take the same road back the other direction?? :)

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  8. You made it! And now you have one more skill to be able to handle the rig in so tight of a space. Perhaps you have (and he has) gained confidence in Stu's ability to handle such nasty circumstances too.
    Let's hope the roads infront of you are more smooth sailing!
    Have fun on the Bikes.
    Rod

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  9. I might have made McGuyver pull off so I could barf. Yeah, you guys are not just the "run of the mill" rig..Stu can now join NASCAR and start driving those fast, slanting racetracks!!

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  10. I don't know which is worse, being the driver on those roads, or the passenger on the cliff side! Whew! glad you made it ok!!

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  11. Nerves of steel is right! Thank you, Stu, for handling this nasty situation so well!

    After a 'stuck in the mud' experience with the minivan and smaller trailer in rural Texas(we know about roads with ditches instead of shoulders) we no longer pay much attention to some of "Microsoft Mary's" route suggestions. I'm a creature of the printed page and I wanna see a MAP!

    So glad you are all safe - your rides sound like SO much fun, and Sadie is really a trooper. Hugs from Quartzsite, Leslie 'n Dave

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  12. Oh my.....been there, done that...hope to never do it again....glad you are safe. I wonder what those construction guys are going to think we they go back to find all their cones either missing or over the cliff...LOL!

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