Charlotte doesn't Want us to Go. Raleigh doesn't Want us Back

Enjoying the pool

Last week, Morgan and I drove down to Charlotte to visit my mother and sisters. It was a full house that night with Kate, Kate's boyfriend Seth, Anne, Ma, Ma's boyfriend, Morgan, a dog, two cats, a turtle, a gigantic could-eat-your-hand goldfish, and myself.
Morgan serenaded our stomachs with Angus Barn beef burgers that left all of us crying over the beauty of such top quality meat that couldn't be found within a 100 mile radius of our local Food Lion and Harris Teeter.
There was a man of the house vs. me Wii tennis match. It took the three males and five matches to finally take me down and my Adam Lambert-look-a-like Mii! (Suck it!)
There was some intense swimming in the backyard pool, a luxury that Morgan clearly enjoyed.
I got to hang with my best mate MK. He recently graduated with his associate's degree from Johnson & Wales and I am oh so proud of him!
Overall, one of the best vacations ever!!! Then, we tried to leave!
After packing up the car, I followed Ma to a local country bar and line dancing joint called Coyote Joe's. There, Ma and her boyfriend met and line dance together to an assortment of country songs that follow the tractor trailer, love my hound, that woman's got some tight overalls, and swinging on the back porch swing is how I lost my virginity theme. For years, Ma has been trying to drag me there and finally, I decided to go to see what all the fuss was about and to wish one of my high school classmates the best of luck as he gets shipped off across the United States for some army training and work. Morgan, as equally unenthusiastic as me whose only connection to country would be if Metallica ever pulled a prank and covered a Toby Keith song, wanted to hit the road. I promised we wouldn't stay long.
And then, I locked my car keys in Little Honda in the parking lot of the club!!! (It was bound to happen some day!)
Thankfully, there was a friend of my mother's who carries around a break-into-people's-car kit in her back trunk. Dressed in her cowboy boots and country's finest blouse, she wretched open my car door with a rubber wedge and unlocked my car with a long pink hook as a small, curious crowd of country lovers gathered around the car. Instead of waiting an hour for AAA to show up, we gently applauded after 10 minutes of gawking at this woman breaking into Little Honda then spent a few minutes quarreling and yelling at each other as to how to turn off the car alarm that refused to be silenced!

~

On the road, things were good. Traffic was light through Charlotte and down into Concord where I-85 becomes two lanes and is a complete pain! We made it into an hour of our trip and since my cruise control is no longer working, I asked Morgan if he could drive for a bit. We pulled over at a rest stop and only then did I realize that my gas was low. It would have been more convenient to stop at a gas station and switch there. Now, we'd have to stop twice. Morgan got into the car and we took off down I-85 that had now doubled as I-40.

For those of you who have never driven the I-85/I-40 stretch toward Greensboro and Statesville, I'd like to point out that there is a long, terrifying stretch of NOTHING!!! No fast food restaurants. No state-owned restrooms. NO GAS STATIONS!! Can you picture where my story is about to head? Guess what area we were at when Morgan took over driving?!?!?!

Before long, the gas light went on. It's nearing 10:00 p.m.

I've never run completely out of gas before. Not in Little Honda, anyway. My dad ran out on the way to church or something like that when I was quite little. We had to knock on a stranger's door to use the phone (yes, people, there were no cell phones yet! At least not where everyone had one). Back to the story... I had no idea how long it would take before Little Honda called it quits. And every time Morgan let up on the gas, I felt my heart try to explode through my esophagus as I thought, "This is the end! We're stranded!"

We took an exit I thought had a gas station. Instead, it's a completely different highway that DOES NOT go back to I-85/I-40. Tensions are high and suddenly we're both snappy towards each other. It's eerily dark and there's a spooky mist over the road. We nearly run headfirst into a dump truck because the fog that randomly appeared as soon as we got on this nameless highway is so thick. I'm scared out of my mind. Not only are we now going to run out of gas, we're going to run out of gas on the side of a highway where we'll either be murdered in cold blood or dragged off into a cave by rabid wolves!!!!!! 

We turned around and somehow manage make it back onto just plain I-40 toward Durham. Then, the wait begins. We have no idea how long it will take to see an exit sign that has a gas station. A sign goes past. Another. 

My eyes are closed, my hands clasped together. Oh yes, the power of prayer has been evoked. I'm praying that I have as much faith as a mustard seed that God will allow us to see the beauty of a fluorescent light again. (I'm sure my mom is laughing by now as she's reading this. I'm also sure she's not the only one.)

Finally as soon as we hit signs that start advertising Greensboro, we spot a gas station! WE'VE BEEN SAVED!!!!!!! We pull into a gas station and I finally start to cry as Morgan fills up Little Honda's tank. 

"Baby, it's ok," Morgan said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. What did you think would happen if we'd run out of gas?"

We'd walk for hours in the pitch dark with a pen light and two cell phones between us as we tried to find a gas station and then walk back to fill up the car. 

We'd sit in the car waiting for help and an 18-wheeler would go off the road and smash into our car. 

Someone would try to pick us on the side of the road and we'd never be heard from again.
We'd actually find a gas station and end up back in Raleigh.... haha, just kidding!

"All I had to do," Morgan continued, "was call AAA and we'd wait for them. And we'd be on our way."

....Oh yeah, that special service Morgan has! AAA, a three time duplication of the letter A that rescues drivers everywhere. WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THAT BEFORE??  I honestly believed he had tried not to imagine the worst. He probably won't admit it, but he was probably just as freaked out and nervous as I was. 

~

Now, we're back. Morgan's at work. I'm at the apartment trying to keep the place as cool as possible. The air conditioner has picked the best season to call it quits. I actually have a temporary job starting on Saturday. I'm caring for a woman's cat while she's on vacation. I'm honestly looking forward to it! It won't be heavy cash, but I got extremely lucky that she picked me over anyone else! Her little kitty is going to be the happiest cat in the whole world for one week! I'll make sure of it!