where is the exit?
There’s something interesting about Texas and Oklahoma freeways. They don’t have any. Nope, they have something called “Turnpikes”. There are very good reasons for these turn pikes. They usually go directly from a to b without stop lights. Okay. So that’s good. Plus, you can drive up to 75 mph! No kidding! First time I saw a 75 mph sign I nearly jumped out of the car in delight. I always wanted to be a race car driver! Might be as close as I get.
Anyway there are two down sides to turnpikes. The first one is that you have to pay to drive on them. Ask anyone. It can be up to a dollar per exit. I had to get a Pike Pass because there are so many tolls between me and well... anywhere that my car would have been weighed down with the weight of the change.
So. Here’s the other problem. Once you get on a turnpike they don’t have any EXITS! So, a toll road has exits, but you have to pay to take one. A turnpike has something called, “Midway”. Which literally means you are half way to... wherever. One time I was headed to Dallas and got on a turnpike. This was a newer concept to me and I had about half a tank of gas. Now in North Carolina, at least while I was there, you could exit and get gas on the way to somewhere. So, I’m thinking, I have plenty of gas. Then as I’m driving down the road I realize...there are no exits! There are no gas stations. Anywhere!
Needless to say there was a lot of praying gong on so that half a tank of gas got me “midway “. Will never true that again!
So, as I stated in my previous blogs, I am directionally challenged. Yep! I know it. No
point in ever getting frustrated with me by trying to give me directions. Just give me an address and my handy dandy gps will take me to your door... or so I thought.
There are two things you never want to combine: a lying gps and a turnpike.
Happened tonight. I was on my way to a meeting to discuss the book I’m reading it’s a great time of fellowship and we laugh a lot. I was going to take a direct route, but was running behind. The vet called and told me I needed to come and get some medication for Lincoln (my dog, see previous blog (it’s Lincolns turn”). He’s had bald patches and I’ve been concerned. Nothing worse than a bald dog. Poor baby. In people years he’s 66. He has a full head of hair except in three places. I hide the mirrors from him and just tell him how handsome he is.
Anyway so I was running behind. So I tell my god to take me the quickest route. It happened to be on a toll road. Ok. I’m used to that. Then something terrible happened! I missed my exit and ended up on the TURNPIKE! I was only 5 minutes away from my destination. 5 minutes. Once I discovered what had happened I went, “oh no!” Then my gps politely told me I’d be 30 minutes late! What?
I’m thinking, I’ll just get off on the next exit and turn around. But.. turnpikes don’t have exits! I was all the way into another town before I cold retrace my path and get where I belonged. I tried calling my friend and her phone lied to me and said she wasn’t taking any calls. She tried calling me and I didn’t get the message.
It was an opportunity of a lifetime. One option was to get mad, have high blood pressure and ruin the entire evening. Or there was door number two. Door number two was very hard to open. Option one would have been easier. To enter door number two I had to, “laugh”! Yep, laugh because I couldn’t exit. ( I call it getting sucked up into the turnpike), laugh about not being able to rearch my friend and laugh because I was going to be obscenely late.
It was a hard choice. All I wanted to do was yell at someone,” where is the exit!” Hence the title of this blog. They have u turns on these turn (less) pikes. But they are between two concrete barriers that say “No u turn! Strictly enforced!” That’s just not fair. I was paying to be on this road but I couldn’t turn around? I thought about it. I even looked closely to see if it was possible to make a u turn. There was absolutely no way.
So. I decided to laugh. I got off the turnpike , turned around to get back on the turnpike to go back to where I was, but! I could drive 75 mph!
I got to my meeting and we both cracked up. Why not? It takes a lot more effort to get upset and it would have ruined a perfectly good evening.
So after I got home I changed clothes , washed my car and then I bathed Lincoln. Turned out quite well.
The moral of the story is,.. choose wisely, your evening may depend on it. Oh. Also. Get gas before you leave your neighborhood.
Good night Y’all guys!
Anyway there are two down sides to turnpikes. The first one is that you have to pay to drive on them. Ask anyone. It can be up to a dollar per exit. I had to get a Pike Pass because there are so many tolls between me and well... anywhere that my car would have been weighed down with the weight of the change.
So. Here’s the other problem. Once you get on a turnpike they don’t have any EXITS! So, a toll road has exits, but you have to pay to take one. A turnpike has something called, “Midway”. Which literally means you are half way to... wherever. One time I was headed to Dallas and got on a turnpike. This was a newer concept to me and I had about half a tank of gas. Now in North Carolina, at least while I was there, you could exit and get gas on the way to somewhere. So, I’m thinking, I have plenty of gas. Then as I’m driving down the road I realize...there are no exits! There are no gas stations. Anywhere!
Needless to say there was a lot of praying gong on so that half a tank of gas got me “midway “. Will never true that again!
So, as I stated in my previous blogs, I am directionally challenged. Yep! I know it. No
point in ever getting frustrated with me by trying to give me directions. Just give me an address and my handy dandy gps will take me to your door... or so I thought.
There are two things you never want to combine: a lying gps and a turnpike.
Happened tonight. I was on my way to a meeting to discuss the book I’m reading it’s a great time of fellowship and we laugh a lot. I was going to take a direct route, but was running behind. The vet called and told me I needed to come and get some medication for Lincoln (my dog, see previous blog (it’s Lincolns turn”). He’s had bald patches and I’ve been concerned. Nothing worse than a bald dog. Poor baby. In people years he’s 66. He has a full head of hair except in three places. I hide the mirrors from him and just tell him how handsome he is.
Anyway so I was running behind. So I tell my god to take me the quickest route. It happened to be on a toll road. Ok. I’m used to that. Then something terrible happened! I missed my exit and ended up on the TURNPIKE! I was only 5 minutes away from my destination. 5 minutes. Once I discovered what had happened I went, “oh no!” Then my gps politely told me I’d be 30 minutes late! What?
I’m thinking, I’ll just get off on the next exit and turn around. But.. turnpikes don’t have exits! I was all the way into another town before I cold retrace my path and get where I belonged. I tried calling my friend and her phone lied to me and said she wasn’t taking any calls. She tried calling me and I didn’t get the message.
It was an opportunity of a lifetime. One option was to get mad, have high blood pressure and ruin the entire evening. Or there was door number two. Door number two was very hard to open. Option one would have been easier. To enter door number two I had to, “laugh”! Yep, laugh because I couldn’t exit. ( I call it getting sucked up into the turnpike), laugh about not being able to rearch my friend and laugh because I was going to be obscenely late.
It was a hard choice. All I wanted to do was yell at someone,” where is the exit!” Hence the title of this blog. They have u turns on these turn (less) pikes. But they are between two concrete barriers that say “No u turn! Strictly enforced!” That’s just not fair. I was paying to be on this road but I couldn’t turn around? I thought about it. I even looked closely to see if it was possible to make a u turn. There was absolutely no way.
So. I decided to laugh. I got off the turnpike , turned around to get back on the turnpike to go back to where I was, but! I could drive 75 mph!
I got to my meeting and we both cracked up. Why not? It takes a lot more effort to get upset and it would have ruined a perfectly good evening.
So after I got home I changed clothes , washed my car and then I bathed Lincoln. Turned out quite well.
The moral of the story is,.. choose wisely, your evening may depend on it. Oh. Also. Get gas before you leave your neighborhood.
Good night Y’all guys!
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