A Night of Blue Flashing Lights

The ferry was 2 hours but it felt like 4. Things got really fun when we all heard a hissing sound in the car -- no, not a snake. We finally realized that Doodle was standing on a bottle of sunscreen, which sprayed goo all over the cds. It reminded me of the old desitin days...

Oh, how we longed for the slick ferries in Puget Sound with their comfy chairs and their full galley. Processed food from a vending machine for dinner was a first; they each chose some version of cracker, with their penny sticks for dessert. Grandma and I skipped.

The marshes on the North Carolina mainland were absolutely breathtaking at sunset, but I was so nervous about driving in the dark on these winding roads that I just stayed focused on getting to the main road, Hwy 17. Grandma was shaking her finger at me to slow down... so you all know what happened next.

The North Carolina cop was really nice and swift. I told him why I was hurrying and he told me that was no excuse (slap!) and to slow down. No ticket. I got gas, and some bottles of water and we were off again.

Still, it seemed next to impossible to only go 45mph on these roads. I guess the speed limit is so low because every now and then there's a little town with a stoplight. Consider this extreme torture for someone who learned to drive in Texas.

(We crossed the state line into South Carolina, skipping the picture since it was pitch black outside. We'll do a U-turn with Tomcat when we get to Georgia.)

About 10 minutes into South Carolina, those familiar flashing lights reappeared in my mirror again! I looked at this new cop, questioning, and he said, "The speed limit is still 45mph here." ARRRRRRRRRRRGH. Panic set in when I couldn't turn up my wallet to show him my license. Naturally, I wanted to avoid telling this cop, "Well, I just had it 20 minutes ago when the North Carolina cop pulled me over." And the thought of driving BACK to retrieve my wallet was simply unbearable. Suddenly, I had a thought and asked the cop if I could get out and check the back. Sure enough, my wallet was nestled right in the middle of the bottles of water. Whew.

No ticket again, and I can't explain it. Personally demoralized, I felt like I was crawling my way through traffic but apparently it was an illusion. Blue flashing lights one more time. I wanted to cry. The cop pulled up along side us, gave me a scowling face and the hand motion to slooooooow down. After that, I hid behind the slowest car I could find.

If the Las Vegas Strip had a beach, it'd be called Myrtle Beach. We were totally unprepared for the neon, smut and fancy resorts. Still, it was just nice to finally be here and out of the car. We were all asleep by midnight and I was dreaming of a day off.