Miscellany: Lessons learned on a Texas highway
It's hard to imagine school is just around the corner. It's been a busy summer at the Bernhardt house.
In addition to the usual circus-like atmosphere, we've planned a wedding and sent Daughter #2 (Jessica) off on a couple of trips. In my spare time I've planned an annual convention for 600 veterans and family members. That culminated a few weeks ago in a gathering in San Antonio, Texas.
Jessica drew the short straw and got to go to San Antonio with me. We drove down on Sunday prior to the convention and I have a few observations about traveling with a 16-year-old and driving in Texas.
First of all, Jessica and I are similar in our traveling habits. We never stop. If there was some way to drive from here to California and back without stopping for gas, we'd be the ones to do it. We don't stop for unnecessary bathroom breaks or meals. We don't stop to look at historical markers along the road. We just don't stop. Pop in a CD and we're good to go.
In contrast, Dennis and Jamie will stop every 30 minutes whether they need to or not. They'll stop for the restroom, snacks, or just to kick the tires and stretch their legs.
Anyway, when we planned the trip to Texas, Mapquest said the trip would take 10 hours and 40 minutes. Dennis suggested we plan for 12 hours. Someone else said it would take 13 and we probably couldn't drive it in one day.
We left here at 9 a.m. and arrived at the hotel at 8 p.m. You do the math.
I always thought four-year-olds were inquisitive — until I spent 11 hours on the road with Jessica. As she so frequently reminded me, she hasn't been around as long as I have so there are things she doesn't know.
One of the conversations happened to be about her college plans. She hasn't made a decision so we were discussing the merits of one school against another. As we were going through Oklahoma City we passed the Oklahoma School of Horseshoeing.
I said, "Hey Jess, you could go learn the art of horseshoeing."
She was quiet for a moment then said, "I didn't know you could make money playing horseshoes."
The girl is right — she does have a lot to learn.
Driving the Texas interstate system requires concentration, skill, and fast reflexes. It also helps if you are just a little bit crazy.
Traveling down I-35 from Fort Worth to San Antonio was a hair-raising experience. The traffic was four lanes of bumper-to-bumper steel going 80 miles an hour.
Having driven the Marion County stretch of U.S.-50, I thought I was acclimated to driving in construction zones. I found out I had a lot to learn.
For example, "road construction ahead" could mean 50 feet or 500 miles. "One lane road ahead" means the traffic in the right lane will eventually come to a halt while drivers in the left lane will speed up to get at the front of the line.
Bridge repair over the Red River at the Texas-Oklahoma line had traffic backed up for several miles. Signs along the frontage road next to the interstate warned that "Frontage road does not cross river." I can't remember the number of drivers who cut through the median to that frontage road to try to get ahead of the traffic jam. Eventually, they all came back.
Another thing I learned was that speed limit signs were purely decorative. They had absolutely no meaning and drivers who tried to obey the signs by driving the speed limit ran the risk of being run over.
Needless to say, we got to Texas and back and lived to tell about it. We both learned some valuable lessons — Jessica now knows that horses wear shoes and I know my car scoots along at 85 mph.
— DONNA BERNHARDT
