Baltimore (Heading Home, Part Two)

 

(Photo: Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images)

Most mornings, I look at one of my devices to get a sense of what's going on in the world.

This morning, the alarm went off at 5 a.m. and I sprung to action, heading into the bathroom at my niece's house to get ready to drive home.

When I returned to the bedroom that we used, Sean was sitting up and looking at his phone.

He went into the bathroom to get ready and I packed up. I folded sheets and the comforter that he used and made the bed I slept on look presentable. Then I folded up the air mattress that he used.

Then I looked at my phone. Kourtney (Kris's sister) had texted me. That's not entirely unusual since she's an early riser and heads to the gym. I figured she might be wishing me a safe drive home.

Yes, true. But there was more. She was checking on us as well.

A bridge had collapsed in Baltimore. A bridge that isn't normally part of my route but, still, I've been over it.

Grateful for the heads-up, my mind began to swirl. But, come on, collapse? What does that even mean? Did a portion of it collapse? A piece of concrete?

Then I looked online. Wow.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge -- opened in 1977 -- had been hit by a container ship.

It was gone.

Calmly, I began searching for more. Maybe WBAL -- Baltimore's news/talk radio station -- might have information.

It did but, at that point, I needed reporting. I didn't need talk about where the money for a new bridge would come from.

I told Sean and we were both horrified. Saddened. Shocked.

In the middle of all of that was the reality that we had to decide how to address driving near Baltimore on our way home from North Carolina.

Honestly, our driving inconvenience (if there was one) would be a small price to pay.

Petting a few cats and a dog, we ducked out of Kristy's as everyone in the house slept.

It was just after 6 a.m.

The important thing was to remind myself that we had all day and, at worst, until tomorrow to return the rental car. 

That's always the place I need to get to. That everything will be OK.

Still, the silicon chip inside my head was bordering on overload.

Do I head east towards Norfolk and run up the Delmarva? Do I head west and north through Gettysburg, PA? Do I clip West Virginia and use I-81? How do I avoid Baltimore?

In the meantime, both Waze and Google said the same thing: take the normal route. But that seemed silly.

So after having our last breakfast (at an empty Waffle House just to the north of Fayetteville), we began the drive up I-95.

By the way, the Waffle House really was empty. The waitress and cook were just sitting and talking when we walked in. Honestly, I felt a little guilty for making them work. But, in reality, they both couldn't have been any nicer, and the food was simply up to and beyond the usual standard.

But to the drive. We struggled to make time on 95, up to taking a break after crossing into Virginia. Then we hit typical DMV traffic between Fredericksburg and Springfield.

We moved along the Capital Beltway, crossing the Potomac into Maryland. For the most part, I was all about the bridge collapse, beginning with listening to CNN on SiriusXM before switching over to WTOP radio and, eventually, back to WBAL.

A note on CNN. Oof. I mean, I've done breaking news. It's not easy. You have to adjust and stay on your toes. But, again, oof. And, dammit, the journalism world weeps as one of the anchors turned into an almost-shouting exaggerator of a mess.

The speculation and the gloom-and-doom were just bad. I tried FOX and, for the record, that was only moderately better, but it was the audio of what Mr. Imus used to call "FOX and Fiends." 

Credit to the radio people at WTOP and WBAL for a much more measured and accurate approach. My faith in journalism was restored.

In the meantime, through the 200+ miles since Fayetteville, nothing had changed. The suggested route was to go through Baltimore. My alternate route -- U.S. 50 (secret I-595) to U.S. 301 to Delaware -- wouldn't be necessary.

We snagged lunch at a Wawa just off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. We took our time and then I took a deep breath.

I didn't know what we were getting into but it was time to find out.

By that time, reports were that six people were missing. That was far more important and I remained glued to the coverage.

Something else had come to light by this time. Thanks to a warning issued by the ship, officials were able to stop traffic from crossing the bridge before impact. Even at 1:28 a.m., the loss of life would have been far worse.

But, sadly, construction workers fixing potholes were still on the bridge. While two people were reported as found alive in the water, six remain missing as of this writing. At this point, they are presumed dead. Of the two people found alive, one had injuries while the other walked away unscathed and declined treatment. Still, the one who went to the hospital had been released later in the day, according to the New York Times.

The impacts on the economy and infrastructure were among the hot topics burning up the radio. One topic I had zero patience for was the conspiracy theories and I saw plenty of that, including among just a few of those in the road enthusiast community.

Nope. I don't have the bandwidth for that. 

As for the drive, I have no drama for you. Waze and Google were correct. Whether I picked the Harbor Tunnel (Interstate 895) or the Fort McHenry Tunnel (Interstate 95) I would have been fine. We breezed through the Harbor Tunnel but there was an eerie feeling in the air.

Maybe it was just me.

I seriously can not imagine the horror for those workers on the bridge. According to the New York Times, they were migrants trying to support their families.

They were out for what should have been a typical job. 

The ramifications are just so tragic.

We got home just before 5 p.m. In fact, after our lunch at Wawa south of Baltimore, we didn't stop again. We were heading towards nearly five hours without a stop but we were both OK with that decision.

We've been home almost three hours and The Cat is back to his normal self while two loads of laundry are rolling around. And, for the first time in nearly 10 days, I'm in a room of my own, alone in my thoughts, while Sean has some privacy in his room.

After a night of sleep, we'll return the car and I'll get ready to call lacrosse at Brunswick.

It's time to climb right back on the wheel of real life.

Many thanks to everyone who texted to make sure we were safe this morning, especially concerned about what happened in Baltimore. It serves as a great reminder of what a wonderful collection of love and support we have.

And, well, after a break, I'll be ready to hit the road again.