What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?
I don’t go to the Outer Banks anymore, for a lot of reasons. Price for one, the cost of beach house rental is insanely high. When I went in the past I was still a student, my parents split the rental with several other people, including my extended family. Now as an adult I’m still amazed they could afford it, but the economy wasn’t in shambles as it is now. I digress.
Another reason I no longer go is because of several bad trips back to back years, literally getting there felt like a white knuckle ride on some occasions. There were always accidents to contend with. Traveling on I-95 through Virginia can be dicey. there is a large volume of traffic and beachgoing caravans mixed with local commuters, add in a tunnel and there were problems.
Where things began to take a turn was the succession of problems leaving Pennsylvania. The first bad year, began an hour on the road, we got a call from my grandparents inquiring if we could pick them up in WV. They were ahead of us, on the side of the road on I-79 after hitting a deer. The deer did not make it sadly, as it goes with wildlife crossing interstates, but I am thankful they were unharmed aside from a smashed up car.
The next year, my grandparents rode with us to the Outer Banks. Everything was going well until we stopped at the Bedford exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Tragedy struck as my grandma fell on uneven ground, and badly hurt her face on the concrete. In her words, “she smashed her face.” She had the best comedic timing in times of stress, for being such a serious person. Thankfully, we able to get her to a local hospital and she made a fully recovery. I still dislike that exit though, the Midway rest stop feels cursed.
After that, I began hating that trip. It felt like we were in suspended reality on that 10 hour drive between safety and catastrophe. It’s not a drive I enjoy doing anymore. Too much baggage, without including my mom’s spider bite in the night or how many OBX Hospital visits we’ve had.
