I traveled to 45 states of USA, mostly not visiting major cities. Forests, small communities, villages, Indian reservations, Eskimo village, national parks, ghost towns, and some picturesque landscapes greeted me throughout the country. While I enjoyed every moment of my travels and experiences, not all of them were good. This story is about an experience in North Carolina, which almost ended badly for me except I was lucky.
I was on my way to Florida to witness a Space X launch from NASA at Cape Canaveral. It was a spontaneous trip, but straightforward drive down I-95. Google map showed fourteen-hour’s drive to Daytona, where I booked a motel to stay, as Orlando was expensive. I started from Silver Spring, Maryland at 6:30 in the morning to beat the rush hour traffic. Nonetheless, merciless I-95 had more than usual traffic on that day. By the time I crossed Virginia and entered North Carolina, it was already past noon. I was speeding to make up lost time in the traffic.
Notorious I-95 hit me with a construction around 3:30 somewhere in North Carolina. The traffic was at the standstill and Google maps showed a long red line on my way. I decided to take a small detour through some local roads. In driving over 40,000 miles, I had taken these types of detour numerous times successfully. More than 10 times around forest city in Arkansas while traveling between Little Rock and Memphis. Google map did not show any better alternate way, though. I used to defy technology, so I did not think twice.
One mile after I exited I-95 a series of events led to an unusual situation. A sixteen-wheeler truck had attempted to take a u-turn and was stuck on the road blocking all lanes on both sides. Instead of waiting it to clear, I turned left to a narrow road after few cars. My assumption was, at some point GPS would pick up where I was and show me the way back to I95 towards Florida. A half-mile on the narrow road, the road was closed, again due to construction. The road after the barrier was unpaved. Three blockades in two miles was a sign I should abandon looking for detour and wait it out on the freeway, but I decided otherwise.
I took the lead and turned right before the barrier. Three cars followed me and the rest turned around. The road was narrow with no divider, had no junctions to go out. After driving five minutes, the road entered woods, not dense but could be classified as forest. A junction was few feet ahead of me and I looked at the map in my phone to give me directions. My phone had no GPS or mobile network. I took left turn, direction I would expect I95 south to be. I restarted my phone.
Out of three cars, one car followed me. I have been delaying update on my phone for few days. I forgot that detail. When I restarted my phone, it started update and did not restart. At that moment, I decided to take next couple of left turns assuming directions to I95. The car behind me is following me uncomfortably close. If I stop, he would not have enough time to put his brakes and collide with me. I looked at my phone still updating. It was almost five and being February the Sun was about to set. I looked in my mirror, I saw guy in the car behind me had a shotgun in his right hand. If I stopped then, I would be robbed at least.
I slowed down and took a left turn. My stalker followed me. Fortunately, he was a good driver. Even though tailgating closely, he did not collide with me. I looked at my still updating phone. Then I scanned the gas levels. I had 88 miles to escape. I took one more left turn. The road was curvy, so lost my sense of directions and started making random turns at every junction. My follower as expected kept making all the turns behind me. No other car entered the road. With darkness settling in, no other sign of life was evident. After half an hour of rat race, my phone finished updating itself. I opened the map. I took one more left turn with my stalked behind me. After a minute, he drove off the road. GPS and network were back. It suggested I take the next right.
My stalker was well aware of the area. As soon as I approached the highway, he let me go. I made the right turn and I was facing the same sixteen-wheeler, which was stuck on the way. With the help of cops, it was finishing making the u-turn. The road was open in ten more minutes. I was back at the same exit I left I95 after driving for a mile more. What an adventure!
This week I read an article from a fellow traveler to share some bad travel experiences with all the good ones. That inspired me to share this one of the two bad experiences I had during my travels in USA. Over 25000 miles, 150 days and 45 states of traveling, I only had two bad experiences.
That incident in North Carolina was first where I saw a gun in use, the use of intimidating. I lived for three and a half years in Arkansas, where shotguns were offered free with diamond purchases. I visited Missouri where I toured a gun shop like a grocery shop, without being asked any questions. However, facing the prospect of gun violence was uncomfortable. I noted this experience as an adventure, but it was traumatic for a while. I did not make any detours for next four months or so. Looking back at it, I could only imagine how traumatic all shooting incidents be to the pupils in the school where they faced them. I wish no more children will have to go through that trauma, be it any solution.
I was on my way to Florida to witness a Space X launch from NASA at Cape Canaveral. It was a spontaneous trip, but straightforward drive down I-95. Google map showed fourteen-hour’s drive to Daytona, where I booked a motel to stay, as Orlando was expensive. I started from Silver Spring, Maryland at 6:30 in the morning to beat the rush hour traffic. Nonetheless, merciless I-95 had more than usual traffic on that day. By the time I crossed Virginia and entered North Carolina, it was already past noon. I was speeding to make up lost time in the traffic.
Notorious I-95 hit me with a construction around 3:30 somewhere in North Carolina. The traffic was at the standstill and Google maps showed a long red line on my way. I decided to take a small detour through some local roads. In driving over 40,000 miles, I had taken these types of detour numerous times successfully. More than 10 times around forest city in Arkansas while traveling between Little Rock and Memphis. Google map did not show any better alternate way, though. I used to defy technology, so I did not think twice.
One mile after I exited I-95 a series of events led to an unusual situation. A sixteen-wheeler truck had attempted to take a u-turn and was stuck on the road blocking all lanes on both sides. Instead of waiting it to clear, I turned left to a narrow road after few cars. My assumption was, at some point GPS would pick up where I was and show me the way back to I95 towards Florida. A half-mile on the narrow road, the road was closed, again due to construction. The road after the barrier was unpaved. Three blockades in two miles was a sign I should abandon looking for detour and wait it out on the freeway, but I decided otherwise.
I took the lead and turned right before the barrier. Three cars followed me and the rest turned around. The road was narrow with no divider, had no junctions to go out. After driving five minutes, the road entered woods, not dense but could be classified as forest. A junction was few feet ahead of me and I looked at the map in my phone to give me directions. My phone had no GPS or mobile network. I took left turn, direction I would expect I95 south to be. I restarted my phone.
Out of three cars, one car followed me. I have been delaying update on my phone for few days. I forgot that detail. When I restarted my phone, it started update and did not restart. At that moment, I decided to take next couple of left turns assuming directions to I95. The car behind me is following me uncomfortably close. If I stop, he would not have enough time to put his brakes and collide with me. I looked at my phone still updating. It was almost five and being February the Sun was about to set. I looked in my mirror, I saw guy in the car behind me had a shotgun in his right hand. If I stopped then, I would be robbed at least.
I slowed down and took a left turn. My stalker followed me. Fortunately, he was a good driver. Even though tailgating closely, he did not collide with me. I looked at my still updating phone. Then I scanned the gas levels. I had 88 miles to escape. I took one more left turn. The road was curvy, so lost my sense of directions and started making random turns at every junction. My follower as expected kept making all the turns behind me. No other car entered the road. With darkness settling in, no other sign of life was evident. After half an hour of rat race, my phone finished updating itself. I opened the map. I took one more left turn with my stalked behind me. After a minute, he drove off the road. GPS and network were back. It suggested I take the next right.
My stalker was well aware of the area. As soon as I approached the highway, he let me go. I made the right turn and I was facing the same sixteen-wheeler, which was stuck on the way. With the help of cops, it was finishing making the u-turn. The road was open in ten more minutes. I was back at the same exit I left I95 after driving for a mile more. What an adventure!
This week I read an article from a fellow traveler to share some bad travel experiences with all the good ones. That inspired me to share this one of the two bad experiences I had during my travels in USA. Over 25000 miles, 150 days and 45 states of traveling, I only had two bad experiences.
That incident in North Carolina was first where I saw a gun in use, the use of intimidating. I lived for three and a half years in Arkansas, where shotguns were offered free with diamond purchases. I visited Missouri where I toured a gun shop like a grocery shop, without being asked any questions. However, facing the prospect of gun violence was uncomfortable. I noted this experience as an adventure, but it was traumatic for a while. I did not make any detours for next four months or so. Looking back at it, I could only imagine how traumatic all shooting incidents be to the pupils in the school where they faced them. I wish no more children will have to go through that trauma, be it any solution.
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