Sixteen Hours to Memphis

Last weekend we drove to Nashville to take a friend to the airport. Most of the time the trip home takes about four hours.

We got a couple of phone calls telling us that there was about an inch of snow in Memphis and it was still coming down. I grew up around snow, so I wasn’t too worried about it. It’s just the other guy you’ve got to watch out for.

Half way home the rain changed to snow. There were times it was hard to see, but it wasn’t too bad. First it was wet flakes. Later the flakes got big. They were starting to accumulate on the side of the road.

Three fourths of the way home…the traffic came to a standstill. Both lanes of traffic were stopped on the west bound interstate. We couldn’t move. After setting there for two hours we moved less than a mile.

We pulled off and got some dinner. From the exit, we couldn’t see the beginning of the traffic jam. We couldn’t see the end of the line either.

After we ate our dinner the traffic started to move. Homeward bound at last! We jumped on the interstate and drove for less than a mile and the traffic was stopped again. This time we were stopped for the night. We turned the headlights off and the motor off.

During the night, we cranked the engine to when we got cold. You know, it’s not easy sleeping sitting up.

The next morning the state trouper woke everyone up by running his siren. He was slowly driving down the interstate (opposite of us). He was letting everyone know that we could move as soon as the truck drivers woke up.

Traffic started moving at 6:30AM. Traffic narrowed to one lane. We drove home, single file, all the way. We made it home around 9:30AM. It took us sixteen hours to make a four hour drive.

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