Thursday, May 8, 2008
Getting Away
"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."
-Amelia Earhart
Spouse and I once had the most horrible experience with a Bed and Breakfast when we were gallivanting around Ireland. Some day I just might even bring myself to talk about it.
Ah, yes, I am going to begin at the end, when we revved the car engine and escaped from the House as fast as ever we could.
One might suggest I have adapted a cruel measure of unfairness here, in telling the story just as it was ending.
But nothing ever really ends, you see, and the adventures go on and on. What does it matter which point we begin at?
"That was close," said Spouse as we turned corners and bumped over potholes, wheels flying over the narrow stretches of road.
I could barely think of a coherent response other than that I too was glad to be away.
We drove for a long time, past green hedges and battered signposts, tiny post offices and crumbly remainders of castles. We had no notion of where we were going, except in the general direction of my homestead.
My eyesight is as poor as my navigation skills are; after almost an hour we noticed a large sign in the distance, over the hill. I had visions of finding a quaint little restaurant or pub to seek refuge in.
"WELCOME... I can't read it," I wailed.
I was hungry by that time, not having had breakfast in the Bed and Breakfast, and needed the safety of my mother's kitchen with a plate of sausages and bacon and bread, and a strong cup of black tea in front of me.
"WELCOME TO..." Spouse's eyesight is a good deal better than mine and he was able to add another piece to the puzzle.
It was then that we passed the Welcome sign, and eerily familiar town, and a moment later, the Bed and Breakfast with its chilly, staring windows.
We both shivered. I am sure that I cried. We had been vaguely circling the area for one hour to end up in the very spot we had been striving to get away from.
Nevertheless, remembering that we were on an adventure, we stopped the car at a safe distance and laughed, and then we got out a map and laughed some more, all the way home.
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7 comments:
oh my goodness! What was so bad at the B&B? Did you finally make it out of town or were you caught in some sort of vortex? At least you could laugh about it and I do believe some of the best relationship experiences come out of shared bad times.
Dennis is curious.
Oh no! It sounds like a Stephen King novel.
I'm sure it was really bad. You don't have to relive it for us, poor thing!
Beth, I thought it was some weird magnetic pull that kept us there.
We're still laughing about it.
Suffice to say it was the owners that scared us, and not a haunted house or anything, if that helps at all :) I know I'm wickedly mean only sharing half ;)
Dennis, I'm glad you're curious. It would be unnatural if you weren't ;)
Tangobaby, oh, you're very kind and supportive. But I'm sure I'll break down and tell it eventually :)
Oh you have opened a can of worms here...what happened there??? ( I was secretly hoping for a good ghost story until I read your last comment.)
What a strange thing to be pulled back to the place you were trying so desperately to escape from!
Ground Hog Day with Bill Murray. Good play The. I left 'um hanging with the ending to my story, and bang you come back with a mystery of your own. I've done the very same thing before. Start out one place, walk or ride a fair distance and come back to your starting place. Very frustrating.
Jaime, well I had to add that last comment- I had to tell a little about it! I promise I'll write and explain about it. It's good to have a mystery though ;) It was very strange indeed. We drove forever and the funniest bit was me squinting my eyes to see the sign. And rolling past the same house.
Texican, you know, I thought of that after I'd written the story. I was fully prepared in my answer if you came by and said it's not fair- I was going to cite your cliffhanger story ;) but you beat me to it.
Looks like I'll have to tell the story sooner than I thought. It was a bit unfair of me but it's a whole story on its own! :)
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