Piloting Noah's Ark

February 10th – Conway, AR to Huntsville, AL
It's Thursday morning, and trying to dredge up the details of Tuesday morning is proving difficult; too much sunshine outside, a Senegal Parrot calling for some attention, and a migraine trying to bloom are getting in the way.

Dad's rummaging around brought me awake with a start at 6:50 this morning after four and a half hours of sleep. We all seemed to be running a little slow after 1,100 miles. By 8:00, we began the last leg of our trip to Huntsville. The weather in Conway was markedly better than The Weather Channel was forecasting: monsoon-like rain and tornados from here all the way to Huntsville throughout the day. Given our off-Interstate sightseeing trip to Eureka Springs, we had covered

Traffic on I40 was light as we hit the on-ramp, however, ten minutes later we crested a hill and saw traffic stopped for a mile and disappearing over the horizon. The twelve miles to the I430 Texarkana exit near Little Rock took 45 minutes to cover and, almost immediately after clearing that delay, we slammed into the wall of rain that had been forecast. The deluge carried on unrelentingly, with only a few reprieves, for the next three hours to Collierville, TN. Truck traffic was heavy, kicking up thick clouds of vapour that made passing knuckle-whiteningly difficult – particularly when passing behind another vehicle.

I know Mom & Dad were on edge because of the conditions, which heightened my caution and anxiousness. Thankfully, the Camry's OEM tires were good enough that we only had one brush with momentary hydroplaning, although conditions often prompted traffic to slow to 50 mph. Blessedly, one of the pauses in the rain occurred as we wound our way past Memphis.

With the downpour finally at bay, we pulled into Corinth, Mississippi and stopped for lunch at the Waffle House, a chain of diner-style eateries. We were served by a busy little fireplug named Courtney who, when the 18 year-old wasn't serving customers, busied herself with bussing, wiping, loading and emptying the dishwasher and, generally, keeping the place tidy. She told us she had been working as a waitress since she was 13, and that she had learned much from her dad who had been involved in restaurant management for many years. As we left, she called out, "Y'all have a good day now, darlin."

I could sense M&D's anticipation rising as we entering the gravitational pull of Huntsville. Mom got out her comb and Dad straightened himself up a bit as the final miles slipped underneath us. Huntsville is a city approaching 500,000. Technology, space, and defense industries, the Army's Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are major players, and their influence has "un-Southernized" this Alabama city. In fact, Abe & Janet are here because their son was drawn here by the space program. The Saturn 5 rocket towering over the U.S. Space and Credit Center signalled the last leg of our destination.

The GPS worked its magic, depositing us at Mom's brother's mailbox. I hadn't seen my folks exit the car that quickly even for washroom stops. The meeting after two and a half years was jubilant and hug-heavy.

Weather conditions in Huntsville were curiously benign, given the dire forecasts we had heard in the morning and the westward-moving weather we had passed through during the morning. However, sometime after arriving, the weather-warning radio alarm sounded and Janet switched on the National Weather Service's broadcast which advised that conditions were favourable for the development of tornados in Huntsville and Madison County. Shortly thereafter, a sudden blast of wind shattered the calm. Happily, nothing more than wind and a bit of rain ensued.

Frankly, I don't remember the details of the evening, except that Janet had a lovely homemade stew ready for us. Their Maltese dog, Mahwin, and Cuddles, a Senegal Parrot made for interesting dynamics.

And then, blessedly, sleep claimed us as soon as Janet showed us to our rooms. More to follow after what dreams may come.