Little did I know there would be three natural disasters in a row that week, the last of which included Hurricane IRENE. She blasted through southern Vermont with a vengeance. So when it came time for me to head home guess which flights were canceled? Yup, my flight from Chicago to Burlington had been canceled on Friday for Sunday and they wouldn't fly me out until Thursday (4 days later)! I couldn't even purchase a ticket to Montreal or Toronto earlier than Tuesday of this week.
God was on my side though, as He always proves to be. On the flight from Salt Lake City to Chicago I sat beside a wonderful woman by the name of Jeanne. We had gotten to know one another over the course of 3 hours and quickly bonded. Not only were we in the same business, but she was also a mother of 3 boys (in their 20's), and had completed the Klemmer workshops not too long ago.
As we got off the plane Jeanne noticed that our flight from Chicago to Burlington had been canceled. You think that would have been established BEFORE we left Salt Lake City! My first reality check was that I probably would not make it home for the first day of school for Logan and Mason :( My second reality check was that I was probably going to have to drive home, even though my directional skills are terrible!
Without much hesitation Jeanne and I decided to rent a car and drive back home! To refuel our brains we had lunch with two other wonderful business associates, Les and Laurie. Once our bellies were full and we were full of prayer support we hit the road.
First we had to find out where and how to rent a car from the airport since everything was off site! After some phone calls and tips from a shuttle driver we went with Hertz for our cross country trip. I know all the rental companies made a killing that weekend! It is amazing how they can jack up prices when you just want to go one way!
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| Jeanne gets to drive first! |
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| Nice little red car for the ladies! |
We left the airport at 6pm on a mission to see our families ASAP! We missed our exit to get out of Chicago, but one stop at an interesting gas station put us on the right track. Everyone was very helpful, even the security guard :)
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| Chicago Cityscape |
What we really wanted was a map! Do you realise how hard it is to find a map these days? We asked at every pit stop and couldn't even get a map of the state we were in until we hit Syracuse NY!
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| A Rev3 boost for the evening drive! |
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| Jeanne is the master driver!! |
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| Don't forget the Shake!! |
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| Jeanne had her coffee fix in the shake! |
I got excited when we passed each State sign to say we had entered it! I tried getting pictures of the signs, but I was never quick enough! We got through Indiana the first night then stopped close to Cleveland Ohio to sleep. We managed to get the last room in the place. It was a smoking room, but we got a discount for our heavy sigh of disappointment!
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| Don't forget the vitamins! |
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| Waking up after a good night sleep! |
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| Up with the birds |
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| Lee-Anne's turn to drive! Watch out! |
We got tons of help from Jeanne's family. Unfortunately, they couldn't see the road closure we came across in Syracuse. Actually, we were just as surprised to find it because all the signs said exit 29 was where the closure began. It actually started at exit 34 and we wanted exit 31! After a little nap at the rest stop before exit 35 we ventured out into the 2 hour traffic jam/detour and found our alternate route during that time. Thankfully, we managed to pick up a state map and a road atlas at our last fuel stop! No worries!
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| Jeanne finally finds a map!! |
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| Smiling even with road detours ahead! |
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| The great meal replacement! |
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| Dusk in Rome NY |
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| A little booster C goes a long way! |
For the last leg of our trip we were very awake and motivated to get home. We drove through the Adirondacks for a while. Too bad it was pitch black because I am sure it was beautiful! Then we caught a 24 hour fairy to cross Champlain Lake into Vermont.
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| On the ferry at midnight. |
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| Tired me ready to get back home. |
From there it took about 35 minutes to get to Jeanne's house. At 1 am Tuesday Morning, we arrived at the house and that is where I stayed to lay my head for a well deserved rest!
We got up 6 hours later to start the day. I returned the rental car while Jeanne went to her office. My suitcase had arrived at the airport Monday morning, how ironic, so I picked it up and went on my way for the 2 hour drive back to Stanstead Quebec.
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| Thelma and Louise after the adventure! |
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| All of our maps and written instructions! |
Funny, I was really nervous when I drove by myself, for the first time ever, to Burlington VT a week earlier. However, I had no worries heading back home. I had no problem following my mapquest directions going backwards. In fact it all seemed logical. I think two days of navigating had some effect on me! I even stopped to pick up a young hitch hiker on her way back to her job at a farm on my route!
I learned a lot during the last week and a half. The biggest is that I can do anything I put my mind to. I was blessed to have Jeanne along on a crazy adventure and even more blessed that we made such a great travel team.
The second biggest thing I learned is that I need to update my technology and get a cell phone with all the gadgets so I know where I am going and can contact people at the touch of a finger! It would have been fun to keep updates going as I was driving!
I have been spending the past couple of days readjusting to a new school schedule with the kids, unpacking, and jumping into reality once again! Travelling is fun, but home is where my heart is!
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| Mason and Logan on their 3rd day of school! |
Blessings
Lee-Anne (AKA the fearless traveller!)
Psalm 121:7,8
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
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