Adventures in Driving

Being a newly licensed driver brings its share of adventures. Actually, being a driver at all brings its share of thrills. Today I had all sorts of fun on the way to and from Laser Web.

To get there, we were supposed to take Winton to Kemper to Dixie Highway (yes, the territory of the Archdukes of Dixie Highway) to Laser Web. We got from Winton to Kemper just fine, but after being on Kemper for nearly a half-hour, we began to fear that something had gone wrong. It was only supposed to take a half-hour total to reach our destination. Jonathon called back home, and my mom confirmed that we had indeed gone way too far.

Before I continue, I must make note of a detail that resurfaces later on. We came to an intersection with a road called Springfield Pike and waited at the stoplight behind a certain oldish navy blue car with a troop support magnet on the back, and we stayed behind the car for some uncertain amount of time.

My mom told us to turn around and go back, this time watching for an intersection with a UDF on one corner and a White Castle on another. When we turned around, we were facing west and the setting sun sent beams of light through the clouds - doubtless a sign that we would make it.
We drove for about fifteen minutes before reaching an intersection with the correct landmarks - the intersection between Kemper and Springfield Pike, not Dixie Highway. Once again, we were stopped at this stoplight, and when I looked at the car in front of us, we realized it was the same one we had been behind before. We argued about whether or not it might be the right street with the wrong name, but I insisted that we keep driving (wtill behind the navy blue car with the magnet) because the name was wrong. After driving a couple blocks, I had Jonathon call mom again, and she told us to pull over while she rechecked the directions. I took the first turn, and by shocking coincidence, so did the navy car in front of us. After that we didn't see our friend car again, as Rachel named it.

My mom casually commented that Dixie Highway had sixteen names (of which I only knew two up until tonight) and she could have given us the wrong one. We waited for several minutes in some random person's driveway while my mom did some researching and learned that another name for Dixie Highway was none other than Springfield Pike. We weary travelers turned our coach around once more and got to Laser Web forty minutes late, but without further mishap. A few other potentially ugly but in reality harmless events took place during our journey, but I will not enumerate them at this time.

On the way back home, I realized to my dismay that I was wearing my glasses rather than my contacts. When I wear my glasses at night, my vision is blurred and I can't read road signs. I knew I had to turn right off of Dixie Highway/Springfield Pike/Route 4, so I stayed in the right-most lane. I realized a few seconds too late that I had been separated from the rest of the road by a concrete barrier and was now on the entrance ramp to 275. Not having any other choice, I stayed on 275. Crisis was averted when I saw that the next exit was to Springdale and Glendale. I figured I would know where I was in either of those places. I was right, and we actually ended up getting home faster that way. Driving through the park with blurred vision was somewhat frightening, but I made it through just fine.

Quelle soirée!