After surviving a Chicago McDonalds drug bust, a severe case of altitude sickness, an Elk encounter, many types of dangerous weather and an econolodge motel in Reno, I am back in New Jersey alive and well. On June 21st, I graduated from High School. On the 22nd, I set out to drive across the country and back with three of my friends.
The first thing we did was pack the car. We filled my 2010 taupe (taupe is just a fancy word for gray) Honda Pilot to the point where the trunk would only shut if you slammed it with all of your weight. Everyone had a duffel bag, a backpacking bag, a daypack and boots. We also had a campstove, folding table, two tents, a gerry can and a cooler
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The first day of the trip was the long haul from New Jersey to Indiana. After saying goodbye to our family and friends, we got in the car and drove. and drove. and drove. I took the first leg of driving and sped across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and taking us into Indiana. When we arrived in Indiana, we rotated spots in the car and my buddy Chris took the wheel. By midninght, we had had enough of the car for one day so we decided we would stop at a KOA (an inexpensive campsite chain). After stopping at a toll booth to get off the highway someone asked why the car was making a "ding-ding" sound.
I felt my stomach drop. Could we really be low on fuel in the middle of nowhere Indiana? Yup... this really happened. It was the first day of the trip, and the fuel economy computer said that we had eight miles left in the tank. The yellow "low fuel" light was on and we were still two miles from the campsite.
I quickly entered the keyword "gas" into the GPS and we set out to find the station. As the sign peeked over the trees I felt a sense of relief. We pulled into the parking lot and I jumped out, opened the gas tank, and out of the corner of my eye saw the buzzing neon red sign next to the door. "CLOSED"
To be continued tomorrow.
If you enjoyed this UPVOTE and FOLLOW for more. I'll be posting the rest of the account of my road trip in a short series since it is too long and crazy to do in one post.
Its good to be back.
--Aaron