Day #1: Wednesday - January 2, 2002

Four o’clock in the morning is way too early in the morning to be getting up, no matter what the reason.  As far as I’m concerned, breakfast should be reserved for go-getters and those awake early enough to enjoy it belong in an institution, but I guess I didn’t really have much of a choice on that particular morning.  I have been known, however, to make the occasional exception, and considering the fact that had I been late, I would have had a grueling 2000 mile drive ahead of me, I was able to drag myself out of bed at such an insane hour.  Oh yeah, and I should also note that I was going to Florida…in January…

It’s probably safe to say that it was considerably warmer in my destination that morning, so when I stepped out my door to see nothing but the white plague that is snow covering every inch of visible landscape within miles, I scoffed and laughed and did every other loud audible expression to let my neighbors know that I would soon be much better off than they were!  Of course, it was still barely pushing 5:00 AM, so this didn’t last long and I was soon saying my final goodbyes before beginning my journey.  Let me note that my dog was the only family member present to bid me farewell that morning, and even she was a little groggy, but I think the concept of having a bed to herself for the next week was motivation enough to get her up at such an hour; that and she had to pee…

With my gear loaded and an overwhelming urge to get the heck out of Michigan constantly nagging, I slipped a Jimmy Buffett CD into the stereo and headed off down the road, leaving the freezing hole of Gaylord that I call home far behind.  Of course, within two hours I’d be back in town, which I would undoubtedly be bitter about (especially after I learned that the bus drivers actually spent the night in our very own Alpine wonderland!), but it’s tough to hold a grudge for very long when you’re on your way to paradise…

Pulling into the college’s parking lot in Petoskey nearly an hour later, I noticed something extremely odd – I was early!  Waiting there already were maybe half a dozen other vehicles, but we were lacking the bus – a fairly important piece of this puzzle!  Luckily, though, only about fifteen minutes later, our famed coach arrived and we were ready for business.  After a quick bout of loading, and it was probably quick for no reason other than because we all wanted to get back to sleep, we were on the road and headed…back to Gaylord!
 

Our faithful coach, provided by Hartzlers' Charters and Tours [Photo by Kathy Germain]

To make a long story short would be a tremendous oversight, but seeing as this part of my tale contains neither alligators nor sunsets and most of it was spent sleeping (or attempting that), let’s just hit the highlights and get on to the fun stuff!  Several videos were supposedly played throughout the course of our journey that day, or so I’m told…  (What can I say?  It just happened that the only time I could actually fall asleep was when one of these fascinating documentaries was playing…)  We also enjoyed one of the most chaotic movie-trivia games of all-time, learning more about the “career” of Keanu Reeves than anybody would ever care to know.  As nighttime approached, a leafy presentation graced our plates claiming to be dinner and we watched as Kentucky and Tennessee passed by with little notice at all!
 

Are we there yet?!?!?! Thirty hours is a long time to be sitting on your butt... [Photo by Kathy Germain]

As one of the six guys on the trip and also a person of considerable height, I quickly learned as the night progressed that no matter how luxurious and comfy our charter bus had been that afternoon, actually falling asleep was going to be another challenge altogether.  Perhaps if Kathy had put on another wildlife video, I’d have been able to make a successful trip to Never-Never Land, but all was quiet and I could tell that it was going to be a long night!  To make matters worse, by this time we had driven nearly one thousand miles to find ourselves smack dab in the middle of Georgia, experiencing the very same weather we had all been hoping to leave behind…

The interesting thing about Southerners is, for the most part, they really don’t know what bad weather is, or at least until January 2, 2002 they didn’t!  Well, the rumor is that somebody in our group, who will remain nameless (Steve), secretly despised the beautiful weather which Florida is famous for and wished to bring a little piece of Northern Michigan down with us.  The conditions outside began to worsen as we worked our way into the heart of Georgia and soon we found ourselves in a dead standstill on I-75, oblivious to what was going on.  Snow isn’t exactly a common factor in the daily lives of most Georgia residents, so when they encountered the freezing temperatures and few inches of snow that merely taunted us Michiganders, all-out panic arose, leading to some of the worst accidents the state had ever seen.

I must’ve somehow managed to dose off during parts of this adventure, although it certainly didn’t feel like we were making any headway each time I woke up.  I distinctly remember waking up and looking out either side of the bus to see semis sitting at a halt, then viewing the same scenery hours later in quite possibly the same exact place.  I looked around the bus to surprisingly see seat after seat filled with sleeping people, except those in the immediate vicinity!  Neither K.C. or Mike had been able to sleep much, either – Mike’s circumstance I could only imagine as he couldn’t even stand-up completely straight without hitting his head on the ceiling!  Of course, Rob was out like a light, which left 75% of our species desperately seeking rest, or at least a good stretch.  The cramps continued throughout the night as we all fell in and out of sleep until finally the sun made an appearance and gave us the inspiration to cast aside any attempt at rejuvenation that evening.

It wasn’t long until Kathy resumed her position at the microphone and made the announcement we had all been waiting for…