I now have 17 months of driving Lucy Lou under my belt and I admit I have a lot more confidence and trust in what Lucy Lou and I can handle.
All this was put to the test yesterday when we aimed Lucy Lou towards Debonné Vineyards in Madison OH. I programmed our Garmin Trucker GPS and all seemed fine until the last few miles. Something went very, very wrong once we took the exit of I-90. The GPS said to take a right and then turn left at the next road. When I got to the road I saw a sign that read ‘Debonné Vineyards 4 miles’ pointing straight. However our GPS demanded to take a left. Thinking I rather go straight but wondering if there was a low bridge or weight restriction ahead I threw my worries aside and poured my trust into Garmin. What a horrid mistake!!!!
The road became more and more narrow and winding. Finally a sign said ‘steep decent and incline ahead’ oh and another, smaller sign read ‘no truck traffic’. Well, well……… with no way for me to turn around and a look at my husband I thought ‘oh hell’ and we plowed ahead. The next 10 min that followed were without a doubt the worst I ever had behind a wheel. The road got very narrow, tight curves and a very steep decent. Finally to make it even more fun a sign popped up ‘one lane bridge ahead’. Now I thought I can handle it if the access is straight on. However when we got closer to the bridge it became clear it was a tight right hand turn and a weight limit of 20 tons. This is when, ladies and gentlemen, my heart dropped into my stomach and I focused hard on breathing. Lucy Lou weighs in at 23 tons….no kidding and maybe I am wrong as we never had her officially weight in but my math brought me to this number a few months ago.
Now remember my approach so far made for no way to turn around or back up our 65 feet. It was all about getting us onto the bridge without scraping us up in the turning in and then hoping with all I got the bridge would hold our weight.
I can tell you now I made it on the bridge with literally only 1/2 inch to spare on the back right of our trailer Lou. Then the crossing, slow and steady, and when we made it over I was thrilled! For about 3 seconds before I saw the absolute nightmare ahead! A very, very, very steep incline on a narrow muddy wet road. So far the driving was all up to me but now it all came down to sweet Lucy. I shifted into Mode and prayed that she would please please pull all 23 tons up that long steep hill without slipping. It was painful, she gave her all. The sound of her engine pulling with all her might was heart wrenching. Half way up I could feel her sleep for a second but she dug in and how she did it I don’t know but darn this girl got us up the hill.
I did develop a strong bond with her over this past year but never was I more proud and in awe of her then I was after yesterdays adventures. She is a beast. How much so I found out when we checked into the Vineyard and I told them of our ‘detour’. The said we are not the first ones this happened to and that Google has it all messed up, but that we are indeed one of the few survivors as most have to be towed out of that canyon sometimes requiring two to three tow trucks as it happened to a larger Class A not long ago.
So yes, I needed a few glasses of wine that evening and I hope to never find myself in this situation again with Lucy Lou.
So what to do? Trust the Trucker GPS or one’s Gut?
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