When I was in Maryland, I decided to hook up with a couple friends. Tiasha was already in the city, but I needed to get some directions to Monica’s so I could pick her up. I got them from Yahoo, but since I didn’t have a printer, I just wrote them down.

I got of the exit to Monica’s, and I looked for the street to turn on. I had failed to write down how long I would be on the main street before turning and didn’t remember what the map had looked like. I drove for about a mile or two and started to wonder if I had missed the street. I called Monica and asked if I was going the right way, I mentioned the street I was at and she said I had gone too far and to turn around. I found a street to turn on and came back toward the highway. She called me again to ask me what street I was at and there was some static on the phone (damn Sprint!) and it sounded like she said I was going the wrong way and that I needed to turn around again. So I turned around again and headed out. I was driving and driving and once again I got the nagging feeling that I wasn’t going the right way. I called again and this time spoke to her brother, and he asked me where I was and I told him and he said I was in the city so I should keep on heading north. Thing is, I didn’t realize I was heading south. I was all turned around.

Eventually, I ended up in this neighborhood that started to look a bit scary to me. The cars parked on the street were all order models, some of the buildings were boarded up. I called again to ask if I was going the right place, and this time they realized I was deeper in the city and going the wrong way. They told me to turn around. I found a sidestreet to turn around and realized that a whole row of buildings were boarded up. I crossed my fingers, turned around, and then headed out to what I finally realized was the right way.

In time I found Monica, who was waiting for me in her brother’s car at the street corner so I didn’t miss them. I had totally missed the street to turn on - it was only a couple blocks away from the highway.

My total driving time from when I got off the highway and had my adventure in Baltimore? Forty minutes!

I picked up Monica, we had a good laugh, and we headed out Downtown to meet up with Tiasha.

We were supposed to take an exit to another highway from the highway we were on. I made the exit and Monica asked me if I took the North or South exit. I told her I took the South exit, and she looked at me skeptically. We were driving along and I saw a sign that said, “Next rest area 11 miles”. You know you never get those signs when you’re driving in the city! The were no lights on the highway and there was no exit in sight. I realized that I took the wrong highway exit. I was going north!

We got off at the first exit. I had no idea where we were and no idea how to get back to the highway (the road curved a bit after we got off the exit). Luckily I had Monica there and a map and she navigated us around. Let me tell you, if I was by myself I would have been crying and calling everyone I knew that I was going to die in the backwoods of Baltimore because there were no lights and all I could see was a winding dark road in the middle of the forest. The road wen up and down hills so I couldn’t see what was in front of me as I was going up the hill.

We eventually got back to the highway after almost ending up in Pennsylvania (literally) and we navigated back south. The ride was pretty uneventful getting into downtown.

Poor Tiasha had been waiting for us now for more than two hours. She had found a restaurant that was still open so late, and though she had already eaten (and I don’t blame her!) she hung out with us and ate dessert.

I had a wonderful crabcake burger. Crabcakes taste so good when they’re made with nice chunks of crab! The conversation was lively and touched on a lot of topics. After the frustration of getting lost earlier that night, it was all forgotten in my good company. And although I didn’t end up getting home til after 1 in the morning, I didn’t mind it as much, now that I knew were I was going!

So thanks to Monica and Tiasha for a great, memorable night. I’m so lucky to have met people from all around the country and have people to hang out with when I travel!

Tags: Travel //