P.O.T.C. On Stranger Rides! The Missing Chapter,,Final Thoughts,, Preview Thoughts.

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

"OMG! that's horrible. I can't believe you didn't crash., what happened next? to you and fabio?"

oh.. sorry. I just felt like Dory, reading the last installment. steve, youdid such a good job describing it, I felt like I was going through it for the first time.



gee.. thanks a lot.. like the real first time wasnt enough!

really guys, I don't know when I've ever been so scared. we left ourselves an extra day to get down there so steve wouldn't have to drive in the dark.. it was dark.. at 10 am.
and I couldnt see a thing out the windshield, except .. maybe a couple taillights ahead of us. and I know there a lot of turns oon this road. hmm, shouldn't we be approaching that King's Inn, with the sharp turn soon? then is the split off with rt. 27. now, I seem to remember we need to stay left at the split.. (hmm, I think it's a split, or is an exit?) no , it's a split, but I remember .. you would think you stay right, but I think you stay left.. let me look at the map...

NEBO "would you STOP looking at that stupid map on your lap and help me!!????" watch! what do you see!?"


ME: "um I need to look at my notes to see which way we need to go"

NEBO "everything is DARK, and that map is bright and it's all I see!!! PUT IT DOWN!!! and HELP ME LOOK!"

ok, now I need to remember.. yes, I'm sure it's stay left. try to catch a quick look at the map before nebo notices...
um, now I take back everything I said about that
"stupid GPS" on that last July trip. sure would come in handy now. quick! put the map on the floor.. help him look.. tell him what I see.....


OK.. I see.... NOTHING!!! gray! wet! more gray. faint lights ahead. wemake it past the 27 split. oh! a sign the splitwith 75 will be coming up soon. we need to stay right for the split to take 75 south. stay right for the split, honey

NEBO:"GET ME OFF OF THIS NOW!"

ok, there's an exit.. here!!! NOW!

amazing,,, once we got off the interstate, it was still pouring down like gangbusters, but at least you could see a bit. not much. but at least we weren't BLIND!!!

and we pulled into the first gas station.. an Exxon.

where ARE we? don't know yet.


I will leave it at that as NEbo continues the story.

I just want the record to show. this is now the 2nd gas station we have pulled into, under EXTREME durress. nerves shot. things couldn't get worse....

guess what Nebo DIDN'T do? at EITHER gas station?


you got it. that man did NOT run in and buy a pack of cigs!!!can you believe it???? I was so proud of him, getting us through that death trap safely. I was,. and still am, even more proud of him for NOT buying cigs!!!!

He's a lot stronger man than he thinks he is or gives himself credit for. hats off to Nebo!

Is it really bad that with the amazing writing skills between you and Nebo, I was literally wanting to hold onto the car door handle, and was almost squinting trying to look through the rain with you?! Bless you both for getting out of that safely...at least I believe you got out of that safely, seeing as you are writing this...

As for going through all of that and coming out of it without running for the hills to catch a pack of smokes... i am so proud of both of you!

"He's a lot stronger man than he thinks he is or gives himself credit for. hats off to Nebo!":worship

Smidgy are you sure it's not "caps off to Nebo"?

You beat me to the punch! At least I wasn't the only one who thought the same thing!

 

[nebo]

"OMG! that's horrible. I can't believe you didn't crash., what happened next? to you and fabio?"

oh.. sorry. I just felt like Dory, reading the last installment. steve, youdid such a good job describing it, I felt like I was going through it for the first time.



gee.. thanks a lot.. like the real first time wasnt enough!

really guys, I don't know when I've ever been so scared. we left ourselves an extra day to get down there so steve wouldn't have to drive in the dark.. it was dark.. at 10 am.
and I couldnt see a thing out the windshield, except .. maybe a couple taillights ahead of us. and I know there a lot of turns oon this road. hmm, shouldn't we be approaching that King's Inn, with the sharp turn soon? then is the split off with rt. 27. now, I seem to remember we need to stay left at the split.. (hmm, I think it's a split, or is an exit?) no , it's a split, but I remember .. you would think you stay right, but I think you stay left.. let me look at the map...

NEBO "would you STOP looking at that stupid map on your lap and help me!!????" watch! what do you see!?"


ME: "um I need to look at my notes to see which way we need to go"

NEBO "everything is DARK, and that map is bright and it's all I see!!! PUT IT DOWN!!! and HELP ME LOOK!"

ok, now I need to remember.. yes, I'm sure it's stay left. try to catch a quick look at the map before nebo notices...
um, now I take back everything I said about that
"stupid GPS" on that last July trip. sure would come in handy now. quick! put the map on the floor.. help him look.. tell him what I see.....


OK.. I see.... NOTHING!!! gray! wet! more gray. faint lights ahead. wemake it past the 27 split. oh! a sign the splitwith 75 will be coming up soon. we need to stay right for the split to take 75 south. stay right for the split, honey

NEBO:"GET ME OFF OF THIS NOW!"

ok, there's an exit.. here!!! NOW!

I just want the record to show. this is now the 2nd gas station we have pulled into, under EXTREME durress. nerves shot. things couldn't get worse....

guess what Nebo DIDN'T do? at EITHER gas station?


you got it. that man did NOT run in and buy a pack of cigs!!!can you believe it???? I was so proud of him, getting us through that death trap safely. I was,. and still am, even more proud of him for NOT buying cigs!!!!
:

My dear, that was very well done, I stil think you should do a chapter now and then.

Yes, the dialog she described was pretty much on the money, it was a very tense situation inside that car for awhile.
Thank you also honey for the comments about the smokes,
but the same holds for you too, as Ponzi notes,
for me it seemed that if I would have given in and bought some it would be admitting the beast won.

I thought you said this was gonna get better

Yes, I did see that, I just didn't say when.

Oh wow, Smidgy, it sounds even worse with your perspective thrown in.
I know blinding rains very well, living in Florida, and previosly having had cataracts, I can well relate to the "I can't see a damned thing" feeling. Throw in major blinding effects from any lights, and its a real joy!

)

Marita she did a great job of describing it.

Wow. Gotta say, even though you certainly have a way with words and can make a bad situation entertaining... I'm sure the drive down wasn't much fun for you guys. Sorry you had to go through all that and glad you're back safe and sound. Well... Safe at least. Although you're trying to make me I'm finding that for the most part I'm Good thing I know you guys survived to tell the tale otherwise And with that, I think I'm getting close to maxing out my emoticon allotment. I will however, try and put aside and make a few comments...





Oh look! Nebo has become a master of understatement. Bravo, sir. Here's your plaque. (For your tooth of course... had it yanked out yet? And how is queenbetsey doing, I wonder?)

Nope, still got it, and in no hurry right now.






Well that makes sense. A mother penguin can pick her baby out from thousands of others just by sound alone and Smidgy could hear the tire's plaintive hissing when no one else could, so...

that's good, obscure, but good.



There's nothing worse than a depressed tire.

That's bad, obvious, but bad.






Hunh. Odd, that's what I say about my bathroom scale. Go figure.

I 've always wondered, almost everybody has a bathroom scale, but does anybody have a dining room scale?



Just tell me you didn't throw your back out again! I did about a month ago ("Daddy! Pick me up!" "You're too big now, princess." "Pleeeeaaaaaaaaaaase..." "Oh, all right"). I'm pretty much okay now, just a few twinges left. Note to self, don't pick up DD10 before trip to WDW.

sorry about yours, but mine's been a lot better since I'm now not walking 6 miles everyday and standing in lines.


Which was then made into a 1946 movie and was shown in one of the most memorable MASH episodes ever. You didn't think I was gonna let that go without mentioning it did you???

Oh my darling,
Oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Santa Fe
You lost a tire and a tailpipe
Oh my darling, Santa Fe

Clever.
I watched that episode about 6 months ago, and immediately put My Darling Clementine on my Netflix list.
Boy, did it suck compared to Tombstone! "I'm your Huckleberry"






Just curious, were you initially surprised that they weren't there? Or annoyed? Or maybe glad?

I would honestly say my initial emotion was sadness.



They became unStuckey'd in time. (Hah! See if you can figure out that reference!)

Boy, that phrase, "unstuck in time" sounds so familiar to me, is that from a Star Trek episode? Or is it
from Back to the Future?


Yup, sometimes the best thing you can do is just curl up and hope it all goes away. Hoping it gets a little better for you guys!

Great post Ponzi.

 

[nebo]

Great installment!

You had me on the edge of my seat. Lord knows I can use something to take my mind off of the biggest regular season collapse in MLB history!!

Anxiously awaiting the next installment!!

Jay

Yeah, sorry about your Sox, that was incredible, the Braves too! Now they are saying that Francona may be coming here.

"He's a lot stronger man than he thinks he is or gives himself credit for. hats off to Nebo!":worship

Smidgy are you sure it's not "caps off to Nebo"?

Sure, trying to start trouble again.

Oh bless your heart. And Smidgy's too. I can't wait to read how you finally got to Orlando!!

Who said we made it to Orlando?

:

Why do I feel like Lucy Ricardo in an episode of I Love Lucy

Off to read the newest chapter...I'm so behind!

Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!

Is it really bad that with the amazing writing skills between you and Nebo, I was literally wanting to hold onto the car door handle, and was almost squinting trying to look through the rain with you?! Bless you both for getting out of that safely...at least I believe you got out of that safely, seeing as you are writing this...

As for going through all of that and coming out of it without running for the hills to catch a pack of smokes... i am so proud of both of you!

I guess all I can say after that is, thank you.

 

[sewmess]

Oh dear lord, what a trip that must have been.

Again, I reiterate - the ONLY reason I'm not terrified is that you are both safe back at home and posting on DIS.

Smidgy - you are my hero. I want to be you when I grow up. (My DH has a bad knee, rather than foot & sinuses from beyond this world instead of night blindness, but I feel I could do this)

And nebo, Bob: I've been called worse than a sewer rat. I work in customer service.

oh - one more thing - for your staying off the smokes!

 

[pkondz]

I never thought I could be considered Ponzi-esque...Not sure what to make of that.

Think of it as the ultimate compliment.

 

[pkondz]

Boy, that phrase, "unstuck in time" sounds so familiar to me, is that from a Star Trek episode? Or is it
from Back to the Future?

Neither, but your sortof on the right track. Hmmm.... here's a hint. It's one of the reasons I made a pilgrimage to Dresden. Too vague? Valerie Perrine appeared in the movie.

 

[Heluvsme]

I'm on the EDGE OF MY SEAT!!!!!

Even though I know you two are safe, I'm still so worried reading along!!! LOL!

And, I'm so proud and happy for you both, to not give in to the cigarettes, at a time when you were at your most frantic.... good job guys, good job!!

Can't wait to read the rest... thank you for taking us along!


~Dawn

 

[smidgy]

Oh dear lord, what a trip that must have been.


Smidgy - you are my hero. I want to be you when I grow up. (My DH has a bad knee, rather than foot & sinuses from beyond this world instead of night blindness, but I feel I could do this)

And nebo, Bob: I've been called worse than a sewer rat. I work in customer service.

oh - one more thing - for your staying off the smokes!

That's funny about the customer service line, I can just imagine the names you've heard.

Think of it as the ultimate compliment.

Oh, now you've gone and made me say "Gack".

Neither, but your sortof on the right track. Hmmm.... here's a hint. It's one of the reasons I made a pilgrimage to Dresden. Too vague? Valerie Perrine appeared in the movie.

You know, I'm pretty sure the answer was right in front of me, and it just hit me when I re read the
last post by GrandBob,,he told Sewmess, "welcome to the nut house", and I was going to change it to something I
have said to new posters here often, "welcome to the monkey house", the book by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
That's what did it.
You're talking Slaughterhouse 5, right? If not that was a
lot of babbling for nothing.

I'm on the EDGE OF MY SEAT!!!!!

Even though I know you two are safe, I'm still so worried reading along!!! LOL!

And, I'm so proud and happy for you both, to not give in to the cigarettes, at a time when you were at your most frantic.... good job guys, good job!!

Can't wait to read the rest... thank you for taking us along!


~Dawn

You are very welcome Dawn, if not for you
I wouldn't even be doing this, so I should thank you, for reading.

 

[Thumper_Man]

Better fasten your seatbelts boys and girls, this could be a bumpy ride tonight!

Watch out, here come Smidgy and Nebo.

Plus, the rain has started again.

Rain, rain go away, come back again some other day.

Not sure what, but something seemed wrong again with the car,

Bad Santa Fe, Bad Santa Fe. You get act up one more time and you're never going to Disney World again.

One good thing though, it had stopped raining again, at least for now.

Cool my little chant worked.

It seemed to be ok, she still couldn't hear it "hissing", but
she did think it looked like it might, "might I say", be a little
bit low.

Must have lost the snake in all the rain.

After staring at the tire for awhile, we both just shrug our shoulders and go inside.

Were you hoping if you stared at it long enough, it would fill back up. Just like watching a movie over and over. You know how it ends, but always hope for a different ending.

When I turned the key and started the Santa Fe, there was a slight hesitation of normal sound,

I didn't dare touch anything, you wouldn't believe how hot these pipes can get

I thought for sure we would have our first Nebo accident here.

Then she found a coupon for a Knight's Inn, 30 bucks for a King bed.

How nice of the Knight's to let you have the King's bed.

In the lobby, it's "Sorry, no king bed available, but I can give you a gournd floor double bed for 5 bucks more," we took it.

Sorry, I take that back.

I'll finish breaking this down later. Time to leave work.

 

[nebo]

Ok, how in the world did it just jump over to Smidgy logged on?

No that last post was by Smidgy was from her evil twin, me.

By the way Buzz, I liked that Nego line, pretty clever.

Ok, I'm going to submit now,,, staaaaaaaaaayyy.

 

[Echo queen]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

[hushupu]

Loving this trip report so far.
This is the first trip report I have followed real time. I've read all the other Nebo trip reports but it was after they where finished or so close to finished they were done by the time I got to the end. I'm not sure which is better. When I read a completed trip report I tend to skip over a lot of the comments. I would read the Chapters and the first post by Smidgy after each installment. You get big doses of Nebo and Smidgy that way, reading 3 or 4 installments at a time.
Reading the report as it is written gives you time to read everyone's post and lets you feel a sense of community like your sharing the story with a big group.. It is fun but the cliff hangers and the waiting are killers.

 

[Rozz]

I need Valium after reading this! It's been many years since I had to drive far in a blinding rain and it took 10 years off my life!

We had a minor incident with our van on a trip to Disney once. The rubber gasket thing around the windshield came loose at the sides and flapped in the breeze like Dumbo taking flight! Duct tape. Keep a roll in each of your vehicles, I'm just sayin'.

 

[wvgoofyfan]

Nebo and Smidgey......what a great tale you're telling. Driving to Disney should only be attempted by professional CDL toting drivers who are accustomed to miles and miles and miles of blinding rain, hissing tires, and escaping rust......not to mention noisy exhausts.

The trip to our magical place is fraught with anticipation enough without having to put up with any other minor inconveniences such as you both experienced.

Sitting beside the road in the fetal position in a blinding rainstorm is perhaps the best cliff hanger I've ever had the happy experience to read about it. and what happened to the pictures. Pictures of the rain??? Pictures of the rust????? Pictures of the guys showing up with the pretty white straight jackets??? Come on Nebo, no excuses ....cough up a couple of pics........

waiting patiently for the next installment

AWW, danger Note the NEW countdown ticker.... Ya inspired me to jump on top of some great airfare deal, bite the bullet, and not drive to Orlando. Thanks Nebo.....I needed the encouragement to jump on this deal.

 

[Redwitch]

Waiting.....

Still waiting....

And still waiting......


But I really don't understand how you possibly drove through all that rain from Lee. I thought it was all in my basement. Seriously, I barely managed the six mile drive to work without Valium. Have you ever caressed your dashboard and whispered sweet nothings to your car? "You can do it, don't die on me..." I never could have drove any distance.

 

[buzz1121]

You are such a sweetheart, saying things that make me smile. "Can we keep her Diane? I'll take care of her and change the litter box and feed her."

Aww, Nebo that should be a really sweet gesture and it would be, had you not mentioned the fly infestation in your home. I think I'll pass on being a cast member of Nebo's version of Lord of the Flies.

By the way Buzz, I liked that Nego line, pretty clever.

Thanks Nebo! Posting in your TRs is not for the slow of wit. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed(think pkondz), but every now and then I have my moments.


Smidgy, your dialogue of the drama within the Santa Fe during the monsoon really added another layer of tension to the drive. I have said this several times, but seriously you and Nebo are vividly depicting some of my worst fears. I really, really want this to get better for you guys. Kudos on the no smoking!

 

[pkondz]

Oh, now you've gone and made me say "Gack".

Well, my job here is done. I just wanted to make Nebo say "Gack"... mission accomplished. I guess I won't be posting anymore, bye all, it's been fun.


Nah, guess I'll keep posting until I make Nebo cry like a little girl. But I had you all cheering there for a second, didn't I?

You know, I'm pretty sure the answer was right in front of me, and it just hit me when I re read the
last post by GrandBob,,he told Sewmess, "welcome to the nut house", and I was going to change it to something I
have said to new posters here often, "welcome to the monkey house", the book by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
That's what did it.
You're talking Slaughterhouse 5, right? If not that was a
lot of babbling for nothing.

Give that man a cheroot. (Had to throw one more MASH quote in).

 

[TinkerbelleAbbysMom]

I remember reading your last trip report and I often think of you guys as i use the same exit as Safari Inn to go to my sister's house. Next time you guys go down, pm me and I will give you my number - then you don't have to pay $41 for some crappy resort fee. I am right around the area that has b/c a magnet for your guys to stop! For some reason I think of you like Indiana Jones or something... Smidgy you rock!
Hoping your TR will hold me over these next 3 weeks until we get to try it on our own! Looking forward to the rest of your tale!

 

[laura74]

Wow! What a tale! I can't wait to read what happens next. You must wish you had taken your chances with the aluminum tube. I had no idea the drive from the midwest was so treacherous. It sounds bad even under ideal conditions.

If we were to drive from the northeast we'd just have to deal with the traffic and endless boredom of 95. Although we did have an incident driving through Delaware once. The alternator went out while my husband was driving in the left lane of 95 and he had to coast across 3 lanes of traffic to get to the right side of the highway. We had no idea what the problem was. I was afraid the car would blow up so I grabbed my six month old daughter and ran near the woods. We had to join AAA from the side of the road, and that is an odd place to give out your credit card information.

I hope the Santa Fe is doing well now!

 

[sewmess]

Ok, how in the world did it just jump over to Smidgy logged on?

No that last post was by Smidgy was from her evil twin, me.

By the way Buzz, I liked that Nego line, pretty clever.

Ok, I'm going to submit now,,, staaaaaaaaaayyy.

I was wondering about that. Somehow those responces didn't ring of true Smidginess. She's kind of in that front-line-of-fire herself, so she's prbably got some choice stories as well.

I'm staying and waiting for my treat. A tasty (if possibly terrifying) chapter of Nebo/Smidgy traveling excitement.