Saturday, July 18, 2015

Journey to Asheville for the Beer Bloggers Conference 2015

I had been looking forward to my vacation time for well over a month. Anxiously awaiting my much needed three days away from my day job (the emails, the conflict, the problems, the people...) to spend some time checking out a new place, meeting new people, and tasting new beers. So it was in no way, shape, or form amusing when the air conditioner stopped working on Tuesday night. At 7AM Wednesday I called the repair service, I was relieved when I was told I would receive a call between 1 and 5PM for a tech to come out to repair our system. We had planned to get on the road at 6PM to drive to Montgomery so we would be half way to Asheville, a logical break in the drive. It all still seemed possible...

Needless to say, the owner arrived at our house at 9PM. 45 minutes and $352 later, we were ready to get on the road. Well, if I could just pry the 85lb Chocolate Lab (who had figured out that mommy was leaving) off my legs. We pulled into the Sonic on HWY 42 at 9:59, only to be told that they were no longer taking orders for the night. Since when in the hell does Sonic close at 10PM? 6 hours later, we pull in at the Courtyard Marriott in Montgomery to catch some sleep, so much for missing Atlanta traffic on Thursday, but at least we could get 6 hours of sleep before getting back on the road.

12 noon on Day 1 of vacation, all I want is a 44oz diet coke with lime from Sonic. Really, that's all...So we pull off at the next exit that had a Sonic and go through the drive through.  An hour later we are back on the interstate, some how we ended up in a mad rush hour traffic jam at the Sonic, don't ask...I heard about my "need" for a Sonic drink for the rest of the trip. I know I will never live it down. We hit Atlanta just in time for a pile up caused by multiple wrecks and were treated to a high speed pursuit with arrest in the middle of the interstate in broad daylight. That's the kind of stuff you only see on the news, film at 11...

When we arrive in northern Georgia and the curves and hills and drop offs begin, I am so glad we are driving this in daylight. I do not like this part of the drive at all, even though it is quite beautiful. We roll up at the Four Points Sheraton in Asheville at 9:16PM. So much for an afternoon of brew hopping. But we unpack and get settled in and take a late night stroll to Wicked Weed for a late dinner...

No comments:

Post a Comment