Monday, June 20, 2011

2 Hours....45 Minutes

That is how long we had to entertain ourselves
as an accident on the PA Turnpike was cleaned up.



As we approached the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
the RED lights were on.
Traffic stopped just before the entrance.
We were at the beginning of a ten mile 
parking lot on the PA Turnpike.

So...what is a family to do on a hot
and humid day with nowhere to go
and nothing to do?

Well, you watch people.
You see how they deal with this
unexpected happening.

So many dogs!
Did you know there are dogs
in many cars that pass you on the highways?
I didn't...but they began popping out of cars everywhere.
There is no icebreaker like a dog.
They bring people together!

This scene played out over and over
with different people and different dogs.

Then there were those who had frisbees with 
them......they had all the time they wanted to play.


Michael had it all figured out...
He would just flip out!


That was a little more enthusiastic than Chelsea
who just wanted to get home.....



She was extremely unhappy at this turn of events.

But we walked, took photos, I read a book in the 
shade of some pine trees...





While we waited the stories flew.
It was a semi  that clipped the far side of the tunnel...
there was a fatality.....
We had additional two to three hours to wait...
this was after the initial two....
the wait was caused by the coroner....

The reality?
About a mile past the tunnel a truck had
lost control....
ripped the side off his trailer....
lost most of his load.
He had minor injuries.

I am thankful that no one lost their life.
We have another memory to add to this
crazy trip.
It was time spent with our sweet
kiddos and while I don't want to do 
it again...it could have been worse.

Edited to answer Vee's question......
Facilities?
Remember that I mentioned pine trees?
It was an interesting place to a lot of people.
I was on the public side of the trees as I read.
One man didn't bother to go behind any trees.
Scary!
There were no towns nearby.
It was very remote.


We are very, very happy to be home.
I need to get around and head out to 
visit the dentist who pulled my 
tooth last week.
This should be interesting.

8 comments:

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

What an interesting trip you had! Wow!

I have been through those tunnels often, and never have had any delay.

Glad you made it home safely.

Deanna

Anonymous said...

I like how you made the best of a bad situation.

Vee said...

You do seem to know how to make lemonade out of lemons. Oh my! The rumors. I'm glad that there was no fatality. The worst of this would be needing to use the facilities and not having any... Was there a town nearby? Hope no one starved to death.

Theresa said...

Sounds like you all made the most of the time spent in the traffic jam! I know it wasn't pleasant but like you said... it could have been worse!

Have a blessed day back home! HUGS!

Vickie said...

I think you quite enjoyed the break, Miss Becky! Reading and people watching are highly entertaining - all except for the guy who didn't bother to hide! EEEK! Chelsea looks completely put out. Glad no one was killed. Hope it wasn't 104 like it's been here... Have a wonderful week!

PJ @ Planned in Pencil said...

Right after T and I got married we went to Lancaster to visit his uncle and aunt here (that was before I realized you were only 30 minutes away :O) We got stuck on the interstate for 3 hours because a milk truck had flipped over. did you know milk is considered hazardous waste? If it gets in the water table it can kill fish. Needless to say we had a similar experience, but it was February so we didn't have the luxury of nice weather to enjoy.

Glad you got home safe and sound, it doesn't look like Chelsea was going to last much longer :)

JD/ Jill said...

Oh No, Becky, we went through that on one of our trips years ago, took us over two hours to go three miles. It also seems like every time we come home from our trip to Virginia we end up waiting in a traffic jam for a long time because of an accident (Usually in Maryland) I finally got to go to Longwood Gardens on Father's day. It was our daughter's Father's day present to her father. I will never get tired of seeing that place, Just wish you could have been their too. I so enjoyed that day down there with you and the blogging gang. One of these days...

Kelly said...

So glad you are home safe and sound. I hope when we go, our trip will be much less eventful than yours.

Glad you were able to enjoy some things, though.