I am worn out, and I haven’t really done much today. Except drive, but for today that was enough. Our four-hour drive to Pigeon Forge took six and a half.

The first third of the trip was pretty good. We made good time. The weather was good. Traffic wasn’t bad. I didn’t miss the exit for the rest area at the foot of Jellico. That’s when things changed.

We’d seen a sign around Williamsburg that warned there would be a one-lane road twenty miles ahead, and that we should be prepared for delays. Talk about the understatement of the century. After we got back on the road and started up Jellico, it didn’t take long to hit those delays. All in all, it took us nearly two hours to drive sixteen miles. After what seemed an eternity, we finally saw the sign that indicated the right lane was closed, and everybody started merging into the left lane. We drove three or four more miles like that before we finally hit the one-lane traffic.

Had I known before we started that part of the road on the southbound side was breaking off and we were going to have this delay, we would have changed our route in Hazard and gone through Whitesburg instead of taking I-75. What I really don’t understand is why traffic got so backlogged, often stopped completely, miles before the one-lane road. People were merging easily. Drivers in the left lane were being very friendly and letting people in. And when we drove through the work zone, there were no workers, no equipment, nothing. I’ve driven on other roads where work was being done, and it didn’t take two hours to drive sixteen miles, and traffic did not come to complete stops just because the road was being reduced to one lane ten miles ahead.

I tried to keep it in perspective, but when you’re driving in that kind of stop-and-go traffic, it’s more tiring than if you had driven twice as far. It was just really frustrating to be there for two hours, when TomTom kept telling us we would reach our destination in an hour and a half.

I did manage to be thankful for some things while we were inching our way up the mountain. First, I was thankful I hadn’t missed the rest area exit so we had our bathroom break before we started up the mountain. Second, I was thankful we’d gotten that bag of pretzels to munch on. Third, I was thankful the downpour of rain that had hit at the rest area had stopped so at least we weren’t sitting there inching along in a downpour. Fourth, I was thankful I didn’t have any small children with me, as I’m sure they would have not been in a good mood after those two hours. And last but not least, I was thankful that I had good company with me.

After two hours, we were through the “construction zone” and on our way again. We followed TomTom’s instructions for getting to our condo instead of coming in the way we know. TomTom got us here, but that was the first and last time we’ll come in that way. We did avoid all the traffic coming in to Pigeon Forge, but we saw way more of Ridge Road than we cared for.

By the time we got checked in, I was starving. I’d only eaten a couple breakfast burritos before we left and that bag of pretzels from the vending machine. Thankfully, Five Guys has quick service. I think I inhaled that burger and fries, but I feel much better.

I’m still tired from the driving, but I am glad to be in our room for the night and I look forward to our weekend in Pigeon Forge. And you can bet the next time I plan a trip, I do a little research first to see if there are any major delays expected along my route.