A Relaxing Weekend...Aand a Screeching Halt!

This weekend, Amy and I got away for some much needed R & R. We made a quick trip to Canton for some shopping, rest, and a great dinner with Matt and Chris Kramer. Chris and Amy were best buddies in college and it was great to reconnect. And Matt and Chris were both at our wedding too...and we remembered some great stories there as well. In addition, after a couple glasses of wine we got Chris's "true" take on tatoos, testosterone, and more! :)

On Saturday Amy and I did some shopping. Sorry for no pictures...but we were so relaxed we didn't even mess with that! We did some shopping together and then we split up. Amy went off to several stores and left me at Borders Book Store. That, my friends, is a win-win! Both of us had a great day...then met back up after a couple of hours.

At any rate, a great day and a 1/2. Neither of us were quite ready to come back on Sunday...but back we came. And on the way back we ran into a scary adventure neither of us anticipated.

On State Route 36 just before Gnadenhutten a gray car pulled out in front of us. It was driving a bit eratic, but I mentally chalked it up to reaching for a phone, or adjusting the radio. The eratic driving got worse quickly though, and soon there was a very near miss with an oncoming car on a bridge! Luckily the oncoming car jerked out of the way at the last second.

Amy and I decided to call 911 as the driving got worse. As Amy was on the phone with the dispatcher, the car would go off the right, then overcompensate and come back into the left lane. For one period of time, the car was in the left lane for nearly 30 full seconds! As we got to Port Washington, the car pulled into a gas station...so we pulled in as well. Amy continued to talk to law enforcement as they did not have anyone close...and we did not want this guy to get away.

We waited in the parking lot for nearly 10 minutes before the driver came back out. He pulled back onto 36 and continued west toward Newcomerstown. So we followed at a distance. Again, the driving was crazy. He would go over onto the burm and back into the left lane...all over. Again he was driving for extended periods of time in the left lane as cars continued to come toward us. All the time, we are on the phone with the dispatcher giving a surreal play by play on the phone!

As we approached the 4 lane in Newcomerstown, the driver nearly hit the sign in the median. And in a very real way, Amy and I were rooting for him to do so. That way he would only hurt himself! I have never seen anything like in my life. Then, as the dispatcher is getting Newcomerstown police enrout, he turns to go south on 77! We tell the dispatcher and they let us go...and we are scared stiff for anyone on the road!

Minutes later, we get a call from the dispatcher. They caught him! Amy is near tears and I stop shaking. Thank God! I have never seen anything like that in my life. As Amy said, it was like watching a really bad scary movie that you can't turn off.

So we had a relaxing weekend that came to a screeching halt. But I count my blessings that I didn't see something much, much worse.