I spent the first 90 minutes on the phone with people that I wasn't able to catch up with yesterday. I had about 250 miles in the tank and I had planned to drive for about 3 hours before stopping at my favorite joint, Olive Garden. I'll just make a side note now, there aren't many things I like more in the world than their salad, and it's unlimited, so how could you go wrong?
As it turned out, I actually scared myself shortly after getting off those initial phone calls. I felt myself getting tired 90 minutes in and I had a LONG day ahead of me. It was in my best interest to get off the road so I drove through McDonald's to pick up a Coke and a McChicken. I was hoping the caffeine from the soda would wake me up as well as putting some food in me. Fortunately, it did the trick and I was good to go.
Honesty is a pretty important trait to me but I'm not sure telling my mom that I was tired this early into the trip was a wise move. She called me several times throughout the drive to make sure I was doing well. I greatly appreciate this but I made her nervous to no end and I knew that.
Anyhow, I was able to chill and listen to some music for the next couple hours. I no longer was going to have lunch as early as I had originally planned. However, I did need gas and as soon as the light went on, a torrential downpour ensued. Of course I couldn't see anything out of the car and the streets quickly became slick. The whole shabang followed and it felt as if the car would be struck by lightning any second. I ended up finding a gas station after getting off the highway for a third time.
The car ride was pretty smooth after that storm passed through and I eventually sat down at Olive Garden at 3:58pm (central time). I state that because of the importance of it still being lunch until 4pm. Although that wasn't planned, my waitress honored the lunch price for unlimited soup and salad so props to her! A $4 savings to a manager is big time, take my word.
I will save you some time and reading to know I definitely didn't learn my lesson after nearly running out of gas the first time. Essentially the same thing happened the next time I was ready to fill up.
The storms definitely put me back some time, but what ensued at the end of highway 10 was unexplainable. I moved 10 miles in 2 hours as the traffic was not moving at all. Although waiting and waiting was painful, there was nothing more frustrating than those individuals that essentially created a 3rd lane for themselves and drove along the shoulder. I applaud the overwhelming majority of people that didn't do this but rather waited it out with myself.
All in all, I checked into my hotel at 10:30 local time, which made the length of my trip almost 13 hours when considering my time change. I drove through four states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and ended in Louisiana. It wasn't always pretty but then again neither is what I do "for a living" as I like to say. I don't get paid but I take my position with the North Florida Ospreys just as seriously as if I was on the payroll full-time. As I will talk about in future posts, I'm so lucky to be where I'm at and work for and alongside good coaches but even better people.
It's time to get some sleep as the first day of camp is in just a few hours!
