It's been raining pretty steadily since Tuesday, and tonight the rain was coming down pretty hard. The wind had picked up quite a bit too. As soon as I got onto the road it was apparent that the traffic was going to be bad. The volume was heavier than usual, I guess people decided to avoid the highways tonight, and there were many people who were obviously afraid to drive in those conditions. I knew it was going to take some luck to get to the kids by 7:00.
My luck ran out at 6:29. On an average day I can get from the office to route 3 by 6:30. That's sort of my good trip/bad trip barometer. I made it tonight with a minute to spare. Unfortunately it all went downhill then. Route 3 was crawling. I immediately called Jen and told her I was worried about being able to get up to Salem on time. She said she could get the kids for me. I was a little saddened by that. I like to be Jen's hero who gets things like this done when she needs it. I was failing in that tonight.
By the time I reached route 495 though it was clear that I had zero chance of getting anywhere by 7:00. The interchange there is a little weird. You exit route 3 north at the start of the Lowell Connector and the exit to route 495 North is about half a mile down the road. The traffic on 495 was so bad that it backed up onto the Connector and all the way back onto route 3 and all the way back to the previous exit. In other words, it sucked. Jen told me to find away around 495 and not worry about getting the kids.
I took the Connector to the end and drove through Lowell until I got to route 38, and shortly after that route 133. I took that across the Tewksbury line and turned onto River Road. Up until then it hadn't been too bad. Just the occasional people who were too afraid of the rain to top 25 miles per hour. No big deal.
When I got onto River Road there were signs warning about flooding. Before reaching the Andover line there were two or three places where I feared for my safety. The road was under water. Deep and wide like the mighty Mississippi. (not really, I just occasionally enjoy typing the word Mississippi)
About that time my phone rang. It was Jen. She was calling from a road in Salem, NH that was closed due to floods. We were in the same boat (pun not really intended). AT&T in all of it's glory dropped our call just as Jen was talking about her car almost stalling. I called her back. She didn't answer. I called her again. She didn't answer. Now Robbie is nervous. What happened? Did she stall? Did she get into an accident? Did a meteor fall from space and hit the front of her car? (Robbie often has problems keeping his over active imagination in check.)
I had reached route 93 North. The highway was moving much slower than usual, but at least it was moving. I got on and headed to Salem. I had to. What if she was stuck there? I had to get close so I could help if she needed me. I also had to get the kids if she couldn't. It was 7:00 on the dot and if one of us didn't get there soon they'd be nervous to the point of panic (perhaps... Robbie's imagination again).
I was just South of the state line when Jen called again. What a relief! She said the car stalled while going through a puddle. It started up again quickly and she didn't get stuck. Again, relief. She also said she had the kids. That's three times relieved. We talked for a minute or two before she said, "Oh my god! I've got to let you go" and hung up. Welcome back nervousness.
I had nearly made it to the state line when she called back. Apparently route 28 in Salem was under water and she had hung up in order to keep two hands on the wheel. I thank her very much for that. I'll take a few minutes of anxiety in exchange for her keeping herself and the kids safe any day of the week. No question about it.
The wind and the rain had both really picked up by then and it was getting hard to see. I had turned around in the Mall at Rockingham Park parking lot and was heading back to the highway. She pulled onto route 93 South a minute or two ahead of me and we hung up again to concentrate on driving. When I reached our exit in Methuen I was very, very happy to see her car right in front of me. The three of them were safe. I followed her home and we all dashed into the house in one piece.
It was quite the adventurous night I tells ya!
Here is the best sight I saw all evening. Jen and the kids safe in front of me.
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