Conquering Your Fears

I began my journey from Pikeville, KY to Savannah, GA from the mist of the foggy mountains. It was a cool, but humid morning as I departed on my 488-mile journey that would lead me from Kentucky through Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina to Georgia.

It began simply with a full cup of mint tea and an open road. I was familiar with the leg from Pikeville to Asheville, NC as we had made the journey in May to pick up a new car for my Aunt. While we intended to visit the Biltmore, our time was fully occupied with the purchase process. This day wouldn't be much different. I did make a pit stop here to refuel on gas and caffeine, but I was back on the road in no time.

Due to my fondness for the movie Shag, I considered making a stop in Spartanburg, South Carolina as I passed by. If you're not familiar with the teen movie set in the 60s, a group of ladies who have just graduated high school have one last road trip hurrah to Myrtle Beach to "... meet boys and go to wild parties and dance." In a dance competition towards the end of the movie, one character yells out to the lady dancing "We're rooting for you Spartanburg!" As I approached the eight exits around Spartanburg, construction brought the interstate traffic to a crawl and I decided to keep moving forward.

Finally about 1pm, it was time for a break and I had seen a sign for an antique store in Little Mountain, SC. I made my way through the sleepy town to find a mid-sized antique store with cafe waiting for me. After a pit stop in the bathroom, I checked the time and promised myself that I wouldn't be there for more than an hour. I've gotten pretty good at scanning antique stores for little corners of interest for my tastes. After a short period of time and with a modest Milk Glass bowl in hand, I returned to my car to make myself a peanut butter sandwich and get back on the road.

I have a snack bin in my front seat filled with all sorts of things I thought I might enjoy along my journey. The blueberry fig bars and blueberry vanilla granola bars have come in handy for breakfasts while the peanut butter protein bars are great for lunch or an afternoon snack. I purchased individual tubs of peanut butter as well as almonds and crackers, gum and mints. I have managed on travel days so far without stopping for fast food, but by the time I reach my destination I am definitely ready for real food.

As I approached Savannah, my GPS advised me of crashes ahead on the interstate, so I was diverted to a two-lane highway running parallel to the main road. The road was in rough condition and was clearly overloaded with traffic diverted from each direction due to the crashes. Soon enough it was pouring rain and water was pooling on the road. I tried to enjoy the little towns of low country I was passing through despite the more difficult drive. 

The rain let up in time for me to see I was approaching what appeared to be a bridge off in the distance. The approach was winding, but as I watched it begin to tower over me as I slowly got closer and my heart began to race. I've always had a fear of bridges and the longer and higher they are, the worse it is. The Talmadge Memorial Bridge crossing the Savannah river into downtown Savannah is 1.9 miles long with 185 feet of clearance below. 

I'm not sure I was breathing as I began the ascent up the bridge. I locked my eyes on the road in front of me and kept repeating to myself "I'm going over a hill." My  palms were sweating so badly by the time I reached the apex that I feared losing my death grip on the steering wheel. Of course it started to sprinkle again as I began my descent. My GPS was telling me I would be making an exit off the bridge which panicked me even more, but part of me was waiting for the sweet relief of knowing I was on my way off the bridge.

Having survived this panic attack, I wound my way through the narrow downtown streets to find my hotel and a parking ramp directly across the street. I gathered the things from my car and headed to the front desk to check in for my one-night stay. I felt sick. At least an hour passed before I started to feel back to normal again. 

I had planned to hit up City Market that night to find something to eat, but the terror of my arrival and the inclement weather left me wanting nothing more than delivery food and a night in. I settled on pizza from Your Pie Pizza with delivery thanks to Door Dash as I settled on an M. Night Shyamalan marathon on TV. 

As I waited for my food, I perused the Savannah tourism book in the room in an effort to find something touristy to do during my short stay. The hop on/hop off Trolley Tours caught my eye. It would be a 90 minute tour from beginning to end and they started at 9am. Thinking I should be on the road by 11am, this worked out perfectly with my schedule, but I didn't buy tickets. I wanted to wait until morning to decide.

As it turned out, I preferred to sleep in and pass up the opportunity to see a little more of beautiful Savannah on this trip. I took my time preparing for the drive ahead and hit the road shortly before 11am relieved beyond all reason that I was heading south and wouldn't have to cross that bridge again. 

There must be some work I need to do to conquer this fear of heights besides just facing them. Clearly driving over the bridge didn't make my fear any less powerful. I'll be looking for an answer to that in the days ahead, but if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

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