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Authors: Cassandra R. Siddons
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Tour” banner to the side of the camper.
“You did good. It’s perfect,” Sonya said. “Move out of the way. I want to take a photo with my phone to send to Mike.” She was also going to send it to Liz, but she decided not to mention that to Lydia.
“I want to say something before we hit the road. Even though we’re on an important mission, I hope we’ll have some fun, too. I’ve missed y’all—even Liz. I had secretly hoped that she would show up and that we could work things out, but I guess not. I think we should look at this road trip as a new beginning for the CGFs. A renaissance. And a chance to carpe diem ! After all, no one promises us a tomorrow,” Lydia said ruefully.
Seven
AND SO IT BEGINS
T he next morning, it took ten minutes of maneuvering to get the RV onto the highway because it required two lanes to make a turn.
“Watch out,” Sonya cautioned as Lydia nearly sideswiped a Honda Accord. Sonya waved apologetically at the passengers.
“Okay, according to the map, we have to take Highway 17 South to North Charleston where we’ll pick up I-26. We’ll stay on that until we reach North Carolina. Somewhere around Hendersonville, we’ll pick up I-40 and we’ll ride that all the way to Memphis. It makes for a very long day, but if we can hang in there and take turns driving, I think that it’ll be worth it,” Sonya said.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to try to drive this beast,” Julia said. “But I will do my part by serving refreshments and providing reasonably entertaining repertoire, at least enough so as to keep the driver from dozing off at the wheel.”
“Deal!” they quickly agreed.
To say it was a long day would have been a bigger understatement than saying that it gets a tad hot in the Lowcountry during summer. The RV had terrible gas mileage, so it seemed like they had to pull over to refuel every couple of hours. Worse than gassing up was the ordeal of exiting the road and then jockeying into position at the gas pumps. Driving a monster vehicle precluded any sightseeing. Both eyes had to be on the road at all times or on the gauges to make sure everything was all right. Breaking down on the side of the road in this RV was sure to be a huge headache that no one wanted.
Despite the crash course Lydia had given Sonya before she took the wheel, she was nervous and uptight the entire time she drove. Sonya said that her neck, back, and shoulders were killing her from being so tense and clutching the wheel so tightly. Lydia didn’t admit it, but she felt the same tension whenever she was driving. She also didn’t tell Sonya that she should have a commercial driver’s license to be behind the wheel. It was one of those seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time plans, but there was no way she could drive across the country without help, so she thought it best not to mention this minor detail. Unless she got pulled over for something—and it certainly wouldn’t be for speeding—it would never be an issue. The women all breathed a sigh of relief when they reached Memphis.
“What now?” Julia asked as they entered city traffic.
“Now we follow the signs to Graceland. We are staying in the Heartbreak Hotel tonight—my treat,” Sonya sang out.
“I thought the point of the RV was not to have hotel stays,” Julia said confused.
“I’m willing to stay in this thing for the rest of the trip, but I’ve had enough for today. I want a bath and a real bed or else I’m afraid I won’t be able to move tomorrow. Besides, I’ve always wanted to visit Graceland, and since I’ve come this far, I’m going to stay across the street in an authentic Elvis-themed hotel complete with a heart-shaped pool. You gals can do what you want,” Sonya said.
“I got to agree. I’ve had enough of this RV for one day, and I think staying at the Heartbreak Hotel sounds charming,” Lydia said.
“You don’t have to talk me out of spending the night in a camper,” Julia said.
The
“You did good. It’s perfect,” Sonya said. “Move out of the way. I want to take a photo with my phone to send to Mike.” She was also going to send it to Liz, but she decided not to mention that to Lydia.
“I want to say something before we hit the road. Even though we’re on an important mission, I hope we’ll have some fun, too. I’ve missed y’all—even Liz. I had secretly hoped that she would show up and that we could work things out, but I guess not. I think we should look at this road trip as a new beginning for the CGFs. A renaissance. And a chance to carpe diem ! After all, no one promises us a tomorrow,” Lydia said ruefully.
Seven
AND SO IT BEGINS
T he next morning, it took ten minutes of maneuvering to get the RV onto the highway because it required two lanes to make a turn.
“Watch out,” Sonya cautioned as Lydia nearly sideswiped a Honda Accord. Sonya waved apologetically at the passengers.
“Okay, according to the map, we have to take Highway 17 South to North Charleston where we’ll pick up I-26. We’ll stay on that until we reach North Carolina. Somewhere around Hendersonville, we’ll pick up I-40 and we’ll ride that all the way to Memphis. It makes for a very long day, but if we can hang in there and take turns driving, I think that it’ll be worth it,” Sonya said.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to try to drive this beast,” Julia said. “But I will do my part by serving refreshments and providing reasonably entertaining repertoire, at least enough so as to keep the driver from dozing off at the wheel.”
“Deal!” they quickly agreed.
To say it was a long day would have been a bigger understatement than saying that it gets a tad hot in the Lowcountry during summer. The RV had terrible gas mileage, so it seemed like they had to pull over to refuel every couple of hours. Worse than gassing up was the ordeal of exiting the road and then jockeying into position at the gas pumps. Driving a monster vehicle precluded any sightseeing. Both eyes had to be on the road at all times or on the gauges to make sure everything was all right. Breaking down on the side of the road in this RV was sure to be a huge headache that no one wanted.
Despite the crash course Lydia had given Sonya before she took the wheel, she was nervous and uptight the entire time she drove. Sonya said that her neck, back, and shoulders were killing her from being so tense and clutching the wheel so tightly. Lydia didn’t admit it, but she felt the same tension whenever she was driving. She also didn’t tell Sonya that she should have a commercial driver’s license to be behind the wheel. It was one of those seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time plans, but there was no way she could drive across the country without help, so she thought it best not to mention this minor detail. Unless she got pulled over for something—and it certainly wouldn’t be for speeding—it would never be an issue. The women all breathed a sigh of relief when they reached Memphis.
“What now?” Julia asked as they entered city traffic.
“Now we follow the signs to Graceland. We are staying in the Heartbreak Hotel tonight—my treat,” Sonya sang out.
“I thought the point of the RV was not to have hotel stays,” Julia said confused.
“I’m willing to stay in this thing for the rest of the trip, but I’ve had enough for today. I want a bath and a real bed or else I’m afraid I won’t be able to move tomorrow. Besides, I’ve always wanted to visit Graceland, and since I’ve come this far, I’m going to stay across the street in an authentic Elvis-themed hotel complete with a heart-shaped pool. You gals can do what you want,” Sonya said.
“I got to agree. I’ve had enough of this RV for one day, and I think staying at the Heartbreak Hotel sounds charming,” Lydia said.
“You don’t have to talk me out of spending the night in a camper,” Julia said.
The
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