Seems odd that I didn’t expect a few issues driving over a thousand miles home…but I think our trip home may take the cake. Based on our arrival into Montreal, I figured that an early departure would help avoid the crazy traffic. We left around 5 in the morning and exited the city without issue. Aces! The lady in the Garmin told us we’d be to Niagara Falls shortly after Noon – faster than we had figured. The first few hours of our trip were turning up roses! Then the storm clouds rolled in (oh, the drama….).
As we approached Toronto, it started to rain. And, when I say ‘rain’, I don’t mean something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hziG9Nr6KHU&feature=fvst. Instead, it POURED. Like, 40 days and 40 nights POURING. Consequently, traffic slowed to a crawl. We sat…and sat…and sat…and watched as the lady in the Garmin updated our arrival time from 12:05 to 12:10 to 12:20 to 12:45. My tolerance for traffic jams is minimal. Calley was a sport for not only listening to me complain, but also for making me laugh about a not-so-honeymoon-like situation.
As we emerged from Toronto, traffic began to lighten…and so did the rain. Things were looking up again! We followed the signs towards Niagara Falls, where a Wisconsin Dells-like city and a jacuzzi suite awaited our arrival. The lady in the Garmin told us to turn right onto Stanley Avenue…as we did, we could see our hotel in the distance. Claiming to be the tallest hotel in the city, we were sure we were close. And we were. It all suddenly changed, though, as we pulled alongside a stopped casino tour bus, we were met by a 20-something driving a SUV looking to turn left in front of the bus. Instead of waiting for the bus to pass by, she decided to risk not seeing what might be in the second southbound lane and creep out into traffic. As we approached the front of the bus, we saw her. On the rain-slicked roads, it was simply not possible to stop. I stood on the brakes, but my only choices were to 1) hit her, or 2) drive us into oncoming traffic. I chose option #1.
Calley screamed…I, no doubt, said a few choice words…and we braced for impact. We hit and the car was suddenly filled with smoke from the airbags going off. Somehow we crossed the two oncoming lanes of traffic without being hit and landed in the rock garden of the lovely Falls View Inn Motel (see right). Within seconds, we heard the voice of OnStar calling to make sure we were ok. I’ve never driven a car with OnStar before and was quite impressed by a Knight Rider-like voice asking us if we were ok after an accident. We were ok. Shaken and bruised, but ok. Our only causality was our GPS. The poor lady in the Garmin (see below). The other driver was also ok and immediately admitted that it was 100% her fault. This pleased my insurance agent…and the Niagara Falls Police Department, who issued her a citation (much to the dismay of her father).
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The cavalry arrived: police, firefighters, paramedics. I have to say…after everything we went through, the guys that came to assist us were, by far, some of the nicest people we’d met on our trip. They took great care of us and kept us in good spirits as we dealt with the accident. Hertz delivered us a new car and American Family Insurance got on the case to deal with the situation. Reflecting back on it, I suppose that if it had to happen, it happened in the best possible circumstances: everyone involved was ok, it wasn’t our car, it wasn’t our fault, and it didn’t impact our travel plans.
Despite the wreck, we had a great time at Niagara Falls. We tried our luck in the casinos and managed to double our money (if only we had invested more than $20). Still, it was enough to help pay for our dinner and we got some great views of the Falls. As touristy as it is in the Falls, it really is a beautiful place.
The next day, we knew we had a long drive ahead of us. I have to admit that after the accident (my first ever), I was slightly nervous to get behind the wheel again…especially to drive 11+ hours. Our new car – the mighty Toyota Camry – capably took us across the border and, before we knew it, we were well on our way home. This may come as a surprise to you but….Indiana is boring. No, really. It’s BORING. But, we made it through…just in time for Friday evening rush hour traffic in Chicago. Believe us, we actually planned to avoid this, but we still managed to arrive in Chicago just in time to creep through it at a rate of 5 mph. By the way, did you know that Chicago drivers don’t know how to read signs that say “Left Lane Ends. Merge Right”? It’s true. To them, they just see hieroglyphics. It’s a shame, really…because if they could read those signs, it might result in rush hour moving faster. Just sayin’….
We finally made it out of Chicago and into Milwaukee without issue. While the trip was a harrowing experience, it has undoubtedly left us with some great stories to share. In the end, I don’t think Calley or I would have changed anything about our trip….well, minus the accident. Still, we had a blast and loved every second of being together!
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