Road Trip
A few months later, we received invites to Joby and Elizabeth’s wedding. Of course the rest of us wanted to go! The six of us who were still in Indianapolis decided we would make the trek. We had all toured in different bands, so this would be our first official “road trip.” Many of my friends still worked at the company we had our internship through. We made arrangements to borrow on of the company’s vans for the trip. After we had that lined up, we began to make plans.
Then everything began to snowball. First, our friend who moved to Nashville wanted us to pick her up in route. She was on the way, so that made sense. Then our friend in Kansas decided that instead of flying into Alabama, she is going to fly into Indy. That way she can make the trip with us. Word of this gets to our friend in L.A., and she decides to follow suit. She planned to fly into Indy and then fly out of Alabama on the return trip. Her dad worked for United, so she could fly for free. The only one of the ten of us who did not sign on for the road trip was our friend from Georgia. He was going to meet us there.
We set up lodging arrangements through Joby and Elizabeth. Then we made a plan to split the gas costs. Then came the big question: when do we leave? It was a Saturday afternoon wedding with a brief reception afterwards. We looked into leaving Friday night , but our L.A. wasn’t getting in until late. That gave us a very early start time on Saturday morning.
Everything was falling into place, until our friend from LA called that Thursday before the wedding. She wasn’t able to secure a flight at ANY airport in Alabama or any of the other states we would be driving through. The only flight she could catch back to California was a flight out of Indy on Sunday morning. That meant she had to be the Indianapolis International Airport by 6:30 a.m.
Now our fun little road trip, had become a rat race. We were leaving at 4 a.m. and somehow picking up our friend in Nashville, changing into our dress clothes somewhere, making to the wedding, going to the reception, and then driving back to Indy with another stop in Nashville. This was all in a 26 hour period.
That Saturday morning went with out much fanfare. All of us half awake loaded into the van and started our long journey. We stopped in Elizabethtown , KY to get some breakfast and to fill up the gas tank. While we were at the stop, we realized that the tags on the license plate had expired about a month and a half ago. This is also when I found out that there is a chance the guy who lent us the van, really was not supposed to. I guess there was some issue about insurance. Now we are really paranoid. We are in another state, with a van with expired plates, and we aren’t even sure we are cleared to be driving it.
It was too late to turn around then, so we kept going. We stopped by Nashville, and did our pick up there. We didn’t waste much time. The nine of us were on a tight schedule! Soon we were back on the road, and our next challenge was where are we going to change?
After what seemed like an eternity of driving, we began to see signs for Birmingham. All of us were still in our jeans and t-shirts. We needed to find a place to change that would be big enough for all of us to make the change quickly. Some one or two stall bathroom would not work. Luckily we found a rest area just before our exit. We changed in the bathrooms there. People kept looking at us like we were crazy. We came marching in with our dress clothes, make up caddies and curling irons. It was madness.
As soon as we were dressed and ready to go, it was in the van. We found the church, got parked and we were seated with only a few minutes to spare. After the service we made our way to the reception. We had only planned on staying for a little bit, but some of the group was having fun. We stayed a little longer than we should have, so once again our time was tight. We changed back into our street clothes, and began our trip home.
A few of the passengers demanded we find a Starbucks. We wasted even more time trying to find them a coffee place, but we failed miserably. Finally we convinced them to let us get back on the freeway. We promised them we would stop at a gas station, and they could get coffee there.
When we did stop, all of us were in rare form. The ladies working the cash register asked us what we were doing, and we told them about the wedding. The ladies told us that they give “free coffee and fountain sodas” to truckers, and they were pretty sure we looked like truckers to them. The nine of us thanked the women profusely, grabbed our caffeine of choice and headed back out to the van.
When we finally made it to Nashville, everyone was exhausted. I was the only one awake enough to drive. I wasn’t sure I would make it, but I snagged a three liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and a glass and we headed back out on the highway. The van was huge. Even with the seat pulled up all the way, I could barely reach the pedals. The van was burning oil and it had an alignment problem. If you weren’t careful, it would veer to the left. Plus I am so shirt, I couldn’t see over seat to change lanes or back up.
My friend JJ was my “co-pilot.” He had a few responsibilities. First, he had to stay awake so I had someone to talk to. Second, he had to keep and eye on my glass of Dr Pepper. If it was running low, he was to refill it. Third, if I needed to change lanes, I needed him to look for me. All was good, until JJ fell asleep.
Now I am nearing delirium from sleep deprivation. I have no one to talk to. I can’t see over the seat, so every time I need to change lanes I have to use my leg that isn’t on the gas pedal to push myself up. If I’m not compensating for the alignment problem the van will swerve. Like the police need a reason to pull over a car with out of state plates. Not to mention the van has expired tags and there may be an insurance issue on top of all that.
I’m singing and “seat dancing” with the radio in hopes of keeping myself awake. JJ wakes up occasionally and fills my Dr Pepper glass, and I am super paranoid we are going to get pulled over. I made a few stops for bathroom breaks (from the Dr Pepper) and to get some fresh air. I kept hoping some one else would offer to drive, but if they woke up at all they would just do what they needed to do and then fall back asleep. Finally JJ woke up at our last gas stop. We had just crossed the Indiana state line, but we still had about two hours to go. We were cutting it close, but I knew we could make it in time. By now my caffeine had kicked in with my adrenaline and I was good to go. Plus now I had JJ to talk to.
As we got closer and closer to the airport, the others began to wake up. One by one I would hear some one groggily ask where we were. By the time we were forty-five mines out, everyone was awake and enjoying the sunrise. At 6:25 a.m. I pulled up to the curbside check in for United Airlines. We all piled out of the van and said our good byes to our friend before the security guard came and told us to move the van.
It took me another half and hour to get us home. I dropped the guys off at their apartment, and then headed back to our place. The guys called me as soon as I parked the car. We needed to clean the van out and then fill up the gas tank. They wanted to do it right that second, but I was starting to crash. I made sure all of my stuff was out of the van (including my trash) and then handed they keys back over to the boys. I was barely able to stand up. I stumbled in the house and called our friend in Georgia to tell him we made it in. After that, I don’t remember a single thing until my phone rang at around 1 p.m.
It was one of the most insane days of my life, but it is a trip I will never forget. It was really great for all of us to be together again. Even though some of them drive me crazy, I loved being able to hang out as one big group again. People still think I am crazy for actually pulling this off. Still I wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world.
