On the Road (Day Five)

Wow, what a day!!  I left Lee, Massachusetts, at 7:30 a.m. EDT Saturday morning, beginning a driving marathon that ended at 10:45 p.m. Atlantic Time in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, a distance of 1525 km (948 miles to us in the United States).  This is the day’s route:  http://mapq.st/qFc8cv

Why was I pushing so much?  I needed to reach the ferry that would take me to Newfoundland before its scheduled departure at 11:30 p.m. Atlantic Time Saturday.

Someone asked how I can drive such distances so fast by myself.  It helped that there were a variety of driving situations along the way.  From Massachusetts into New Hampshire, the speeds ran between 85 and 90+ mph with rapid multi-lane changes.  I was grateful to learn that my reaction time had not been adversely affected by six years of living in Iowa.  The road through that part of the Appalachians was pretty tame, at least compared to what I was used to going through West Virginia.  Of course, the rain and wind on the last 400 km added an interesting element to the ride.

Plus, I only needed to make two stops along the way for gas, bathroom and food.  And the music playlist was worth all the hours I spent reconstructing it.

At this moment, I’m aboard the ferry.  The seas are choppy, and the sandwich I ate a while ago is not settling well.  First time I can ever remember being even slightly seasick.  Still, I’m grateful to have gotten here in time and to be able to get on board considering I didn’t have a reservation.

I realized that I neglected a couple of critical parts of my journey. First, I need to acknowledge the musicians and their songs that helped me focus on my driving throughout my journey. So, I’m going back and posting links to a song that I recall most strongly from each day’s playlist.

This day’s song is Elton John’s “Something about the Way You Look Tonight.” Elton John is one of the few White Pop performers I’d pay to see, so a number of his songs can provoke an obsession session.

Most importantly, of course, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the RB as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzed by my windshield.