A Road Trip of Unfortunate Events

For several months, we had anticipated taking our young son to see snow in our favorite mountain town of Beech Mountain, North Carolina, a primary setting in my Crossroads Suspense series. 

Two days before our trip, we learned of a blizzard that was forecasted to impact our destination the following weekend (during the end of our trip). So late Tuesday night, we made the decision to leave the next morning: a whole day early. This way, we could enjoy the mountains and get out before the storm.

Were we packed? Not even close. I canceled plans, packed like crazy, and tried to calm my anxious heart. (I’m a hard-core planner, so revamping is not one of my strengths.) But surely, once on the road, everything would be fine.

The eleven-hour road trip started great. We made such good time that we even dared to hope for an arrival well before midnight. 

Then, we hit construction zones. No biggie, at least we were moving. But with a toddler, the stops added up, and our early arrival dreams faded. Okay, midnight it was!

One hour out, we came to a dead stop, and an officer flagged us over. The entire mountain road was shut down. An eighteen-wheeler had crashed and spewed batteries all over the road. The officer estimated the road would reopen in twenty minutes, so we sat there.

Forty-five minutes later, we hadn’t moved, and it was now after midnight. Another officer suggested detouring on a narrow gravel road. It would dump us out just beyond the closed road.

He wasn’t kidding when he said “winding!” It was so narrow that two cars could barely pass each other, but we made it. On the road again!

By now, snow had started falling. When we reached out Airbnb, we wrapped our snoozing toddler in a blanket and hurried to find our room. 

The door code didn’t work. We tried again. And again.

Not only had our son woken up, but he was now shivering. We hurried back to the car while my husband and I took turns trying to reach the rental company.

Finally, someone answered. At one-thirty in the morning, we opened our apartment door and maybe got to bed around two. The road trip of unfortunate events officially sets the record for our worst travel day ever.

But you know what? Our trip was still amazing. We went tubing, sledding, and even introduced our little guy to skiing. We made snow angels and threw snowballs. We ate Fred’s cinnamon rolls and Brick Oven pizza (both of which my characters experience in my Crossroads Suspense series).

What this trip reminded me is that every day is a new day, and that praise God, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). Yes, we had the most miserable travel day on record, but the next day held blue skies and snowy fun in one of our favorite places. 

In a way, our road trip was like a suspense novel, full of setbacks and plot twists. Leave a comment for a chance to win a Kindle copy of any one book in my Crossroads Suspense series (winner’s choice). Be sure to include your email.