Survived one of my worst fears!
We were returning to Delaware from West Virginia after a family reunion in the mountains near Hinton, W. VA. We had to take the Washington Beltway, which we hate, but did okay on the way out early Sunday morning. However, coming back it was a little more complicated and we missed 495. I knew were were in trouble as MD 66 was heading right into the capital. Then the GPS directed us to 395, which also goes right through the capital. All of a sudden, a sign warning of a low bridge warning appears. Sure enough, the light flashed as we approached! Fortunately there was a shoulder so we pulled over and stopped, while 3 lanes of speeding traffic are flying by. We can't even get out to see if we would fit! We looked at each other with wide eyes!! So, I called 911. We had no idea how to get out of this mess. The dispatcher said not to get out of our vehicle, and wait for a patrol car. We had plenty of gas, and it was in the 90's.
We waited a few minutes, and suddenly a huge, beautiful, royal blue motorhome pulled up to the bridge in the center lane, and almost came to a complete stop, (I was sure this was going to be a disaster for us all) He had his flashers on, then very slowly inched under the bridge with a sliver of daylight to spare, and made it! There was a second bridge right after it too. We could see he was bigger than us, so after waiting for a break in traffic, we slowly pulled out and did the same! Whew!! Shortly after passing under the bridges, we saw 495 and got on. It was south and not north, but it didn't matter, we drove until our exit.
I wish we could have caught up with the motor home and told him he was our guardian angel!! I'll never forget the relief while watching it safely pass under the bridges. I'll never know if he knew the route, or he missed 495 too!
So, other than that nightmare, traveling a mountain hugging 2 lane road for 25 white knuckle miles, and crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge late on A Sunday afternoon with all the beach goers, it was quite a trip. Sure was glad to get home!!
We waited a few minutes, and suddenly a huge, beautiful, royal blue motorhome pulled up to the bridge in the center lane, and almost came to a complete stop, (I was sure this was going to be a disaster for us all) He had his flashers on, then very slowly inched under the bridge with a sliver of daylight to spare, and made it! There was a second bridge right after it too. We could see he was bigger than us, so after waiting for a break in traffic, we slowly pulled out and did the same! Whew!! Shortly after passing under the bridges, we saw 495 and got on. It was south and not north, but it didn't matter, we drove until our exit.
I wish we could have caught up with the motor home and told him he was our guardian angel!! I'll never forget the relief while watching it safely pass under the bridges. I'll never know if he knew the route, or he missed 495 too!
So, other than that nightmare, traveling a mountain hugging 2 lane road for 25 white knuckle miles, and crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge late on A Sunday afternoon with all the beach goers, it was quite a trip. Sure was glad to get home!!
