Hi all,
Well, as I sit here in Insomniacs County, North Carolina! I feel I had better start to try and report what for me is going to become one of the most memorable periods of my life!.
If I dont, I am sure that the sheer quantity of events will never allow me to remember them all!
Pictures may be inserted later! And I hope this doesnt detract from your reading!
Thursday, May 9th the Big Day! Had at last dawned and making a quick post to say farewell to MDs, I fired up the pre-packed car and headed off to Manchester Airport.
Many of you know that I like to be as prepared as possible as the curse strikes often, quickly and unexpectedly!
So I had done a little research on North Carolina.
Capital Raleigh, home to some 6 million Americans, it lies on the Eastern Coast
And is some 52,000 square miles in area.
The scale of these things, US/GB comparisons, is something I expect to refer to frequently, because it is only by examining the differences, that we seem to realize the similarities!
In Anglers Mail this week I left, there is a Report on Rudyard Reservoir, a venue that John Esox and I have fished several times.
The Reservoir (unrecognizable to me at the reported Fish a chuck style as usual) is 200 acres of water and is a very large UK venue!
The Reservoir I was going to fish, Tuckerstown NC, is 300.000 acres of interconnected water! And is the SMALLEST of 3 adjoining Reservoir systems!
No wonder Newt fishes it by boat! Its a hellova long walk around the bank!
Armed with this small insight into my destination, I drove along happily, never realizing I had overlooked more important Research! Namely the A6 to Manchester!
Les the Navigator knows I can find my way around the UK almost by instinct, but I defy anyone to get to the Airport by the conventional route at the moment!
With 36 miles registered on the clock in 52 minutes, I pulled up at the A6 roadworks at Stockport, with less than 15 miles to go and an easy connection to flight DELTA 0065 departing 11.40 TO Atlanta and the time not yet 9.00.
Placidly, I thought Good, time to roll a cigarette!
An hour later, Placid long since gone, now a gibbering wreck and having chain smoked for that hour, in which I must have moved some 400 yards, I spun the car and headed back down the static A6. looking for the Macclesfield junction and a cross country route, that I knew existed, but was unaware of the detail!
I had booked to arrive at the secure Car Park at 10.10 allowing 30 minute transfer (Its only 5 mins. away) and 1 hour security check before take off.
Now, since the tragic Sept.11th, 1 hour only is frowned upon in some circles and the internet booking Company, E-Bookers had suggested a minimum of 2 hours when they supplied my tickets, but, hating waiting around, I had confidently expected an innocent looking, solo Zippy, to sail through these checks!
If only I could get anywhere near the damn Airport!
I knew that I had to get north of Manchester, hit the M-Way system and get off the M60 at Junction 2 Wythenshawe, to find the APH secure Car Park, where my car had been safely left on my March trip to Germany!
More damn Roadworks! More apology boards from damn Councils! More Sorry for delay boards by Damn Contractors, until finally I saw the welcome Blue Motorway symbol!
Dont ask me which Motorway I had found! They are all interconnected around Manchester and the boards above the road are the only decent directional boards in the whole of the benighted city!
Suffice to say, that needing speed to blow the panic from my brain! I was happily doing 90mph when I found that the car had discovered the required M60 and was approaching Junction 6, Hurray! And it was only 10.35; I had 5 minutes to spare!
Foot down ignore the turn-off to J6, only 4 more to go!
The next exit board loomed!
Junction 7!!
How I stopped myself doing a handbrake turn, I dont know, but taking the exit (and the roundabout on 2 wheels) I was soon heading the right way!
Practically incapable of rational thought now, thinking only of my worst possible fears of missing this wonderfully generous opportunity to visit Newt and warm for the 1st time this Spring! (Sweat was starting to run down my face!) , I spotted the welcome Wythenshawe.
Scream off the Motorway, make a right, confident that I knew the last little bit, I did an emergency stop to meet the requirements of yet another Roadworks ahead, Diverted Traffic sign and thought Where the hell is this?
In recognized nothing.
Glancing back, I could see why!
Above the M60 was the board that said Wythenshawe
But it also said Junction 4
I had come off the other side of the town, as I needed 2!
Impossible to turn back, (1 way diverted traffic roadworks sign) I blindly blundered into darkest Wythenshawe, seeking Sharston Rd Ind, Estate.
Thank you the little man wearing the Day-Glo Yellow Jacket!
Lollipop man? Council Worker?, Post man?
I shall never know, but you obviously did not like to see a grown man in tears and quickly gave me a few left and rights, which within 5 minutes saw me thankfully recognize my destination.
I was now 10 minutes over the required check in time, but thankfully, the lads at APH (and Manchester Depot, Why have they all got Scouse accents?) quickly got me to Terminal 2, where, trying to sprint, (with suitcase, hand luggage and all) and screaming Delta? Delta?, Delta? At anyone who remotely looked official (One of whom, looked blankly at me, but did wave his broom vaguely down the corridor)
Then it came!
Announcement!
Delta Airlines apologise for the delay to Flight 605, which is running approximately 30 minutes late!
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I checked in, went through to departures and sat and had a coffee and 3 cigarettes!
Security was reasonable, particularly in mind of the scale of the awful events of Sept.11 and I even had time to do the duty free shop, discover the exact stuff my wife wanted, extremely unusual! get a free gift with it! And finally settled in seat 52A (window as requested) discovered that 52B was not taken (even better) and thought to myself the curse must now be content, as I have not gone through such a stressful period for ages!
I silently cheered Arsenal, after my treatment by Manchester! And within 5 minutes of take-off had drifted into an exhausted sleep, which lasted until we crossed the ocean and reached the Canadian Coastline.
Refreshed, revived, a rising increase in excitement!
But of course then, I didnt know about Atlanta!
Cheers
Trev
Ziptrev
Shouldn't happen to a DOG!
