Into the Woods

Phi Mu Into the Woods. Part II- The Journey

      This past week, Claire, Scottie and I loaded up Claire’s teal SUV to head to the beach. As we threw in the final towels, ice-cream maker, art supplies, binoculars, and instant coffee (all of which are trip essentials) we crammed in and prepared ourselves for the road trip ahead. I’ve heard it said that sometimes its not the destination that is full of adventure but the journey along the way. I agree with whatever wise person said those words. They clearly must have driven highway 331 at some point in their life as well.  We passed several small towns and Scottie did not fail to point out every stray dog along the way. We had to convince her that perhaps they weren’t abandoned, just homeward bound. Its still a miracle that we made it to the bungalow without at least one dog- I swear she spotted seventeen.  The highlight of the trip for me was seeing two bison in someone’s front yard. Somehow I was the only one to see them and Claire and Scottie acted as if it was an everyday occurrence.  For the rest of the trip, anytime someone pointed out something they would respond with “Maybe it’s a bison”. No worries, on the journey home, I proved the bison were real and definitely in Alabama. We passed a stand along the road and Scottie insisted we stop and get boiled peanuts. It was definitely an experience but so good! 

As we passed through the town called Opp, the interstate was closed off by multiple police cars and we had to detour. As we passed a tractor driving in town, Scottie asked if our car sounded funny. We assured her it was just the road. Less than 2 minutes later, we heard a loud noise and it took 2.5 seconds to realize it wasn’t the road but the tire. So we pulled off into the only place we saw. Naturally, it was an abandoned building with a creepy baby painted on the side.

The tire- definitely flat. The surroundings- middle of nowhere. The three of us- a hot mess. Thankfully we had AAA and after guessing whether the bolts on the tire were standard or custom and confirming that we were in fact in Alabama not Florida, they assured us someone would come from the Exon Station in town. As we unpacked the entire contents of the car to get the spare out and then someone repacked it all, we met seven people from the town.  Each stopped and offered to help and one older woman in particular even offered to send her brother to help us.  She then told us about her upcoming trip to Disney World (She hasn’t been in 30 years and she is so excited). We assured them all along with the state trooper that help was on the way and sure enough, a few minutes later, redemption came in the form of a man named Rusty in a ford pickup. He was a man of few words but he did tell us why the interstate was closed. Apparently the cops were chasing two fugitives by car. One was shot and the other was still on the run. This was not the most comforting news to three girls stranded on the side of the road.  With the spare tire on or “donut” as Claire called, we continued the rest of the trip at a slow pace and finally made it to the state park before Ranger Fred locked the gates.