Sisters on the Road

We did several outfit shoots that were going to appear on the blog last week, but before we were able to transfer the pictures onto the computer, our camera was stolen. Yes, we got robbed! In broad daylight! Luckily we are OK and our camera was the only thing that was taken from us (unless you count in a sense of security and trust in people). But it was certainly a frightening experience. It's making me feel anxious even as I'm writing this. Just as I was finally starting to feel like I might be getting over a previous traumatic event that happened a few months back, we ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, again. Quite frankly, I'm ready for something good to happen for a change. Perhaps I should go buy a lottery ticket.

With no new pictures and no camera, I've been looking through the old pics on my computer trying to find something blog worthy. I've been debating for months whether I should post pictures from the road trip we took with my sister back in the spring. Looking at them always gave me mixed feelings, some of which weren't exactly pleasant as they reminded me of the unexpected outcome of the trip. It is also a bit strange to be looking at us bundled up in coats in the midst of summer; however, as the alternative is not posting anything for an indefinite length of time, I thought I'd share a few of the better moments.

As I've mentioned before this trip was my sister's very first visit to the U.S., and I wanted to show her more than just the Windy City. I wanted her to get as much of a taste of the country as possible in the little time she had. And what better way of doing that than going on a road trip - the ultimate American adventure. We spent months planning every last detail of the journey - starting in Chicago, going all the way to Key West, and ending in Grand Rapids, MI. We were going to stop and explore many cities along the way. I was particularly looking forward to visiting Savannah, after falling in love with it during our last trip to the South. With 11 states and 9 days on the road this was going to be the gutsiest trip we've taken so far - one to remember.

On the first day of our travels we made a few quick stops in Indiana. We visited the small town of Zionsville, where Mr. C lived in as a child for a number of years. We stopped in this this quaint little town a few years ago and were glad to be back again. Unfortunately, our brief stay was more pleasant first time around. This time it was cold, windy, and if my memory recalls, it even started to snow at some point, despite it officially being spring. 

Mr. C has been a big fan of the Indy 500 race since he was a little boy (It's pretty much the only sport we'll ever watch. THANK GOD!) so we stopped at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. We even got a free pass since we arrived too close to closing time. Luckily it's not a very big place, and we were able to see everything before they locked the doors.

The next day's plan was to get from the border of Indiana to Macon, GA, where we were going to spend the night at a campground. Along the way we were going to visit Nashville and possibly Atlanta. We decided to skip the latter as we were running behind the schedule.

I was very surprised to find Nashville unusually empty and quiet on a Saturday afternoon.  I don't know where all the people and the action usually is in the music city, but we were certainly nowhere near it.

We took a stroll down Music Row, walked past some of the famous recording studios, and somehow accidentally ended up on the beautiful Vanderbilt University campus, which was full of blossoming trees and beautiful old buildings.

Wandering through the campus we suddenly heard music in the distance. We followed the sound and it led us to a big open field where some type of a talent contest was taking place. We watched a few dance and vocal performances. My sister was so into it she even started dancing herself.

That same day, about an hour away from our destination for the night, we got into a major car accident. We were hit by an intoxicated, speeding young driver and just like that all of our plans we put our hearts into ended in a single moment. We were incredibly lucky we got away without any severe injuries considering the nature and the location of the accident (You should have seen what was left out of the other driver's car!). Nevertheless, the recovery was a painful, lengthy process, especially the psychological part. It took several moths of professional help to be able to get into a car without having a panic attack and crying spells every time another vehicle got near us. I've never experienced such horror in my life. I've also never been tormented by such guilt for putting my sister in harms way (She could have avoided going through this life and death experience had I not planed this trip). Although I'm doing much better thanks to EMDR treatment, I still question the reason and the timing of the accident (Why did it had to happen while my sister was here instead of any other time in 14 years that I've lived here?). I'm searching for something positive to take away from it, other than the fact we were lucky we didn't die. I'm still bothered by load noises and those gut-wrenching flashbacks occasionally creep up while driving in the dark, but I've made tremendous progress. Hopefully I will continue to do so until it all fades into a distant memory.