My First Road Trip Adventure by myself

On Friday morning, Candace and I rented a car so that I could take her to the SEA-TAC airport and then I can go to the Temple. Thank goodness that they don't celebrate the Good Friday as we do, so then I could go on Friday instead of Saturday. She is on her way to Arizona for her last practicum and then she will be back in May for good. So we drove her to the airport and after I dropped her off that is when my adventure began because I have never driven such a long distance by myself nor in so much traffic. I had obstacles such as: construction, airport parking lot (paying to get out), rush hour traffic, semi's loaded with lumber (those are the scariest), and keeping up with traffic without getting a ticket.
So, I parked in the airport parking for Candace because she had to re-pack her luggage and get rid of a suitcase (she was overlimit) and then after that was done we said goodbye. I then backed out of may parking spot and had my foot on the brake, ready to stop the car but as I lightly pressed on it, the car kept moving back. This made me panic a little because it made me think I was pressing on the accelerator instead but it was the brake so I just slammed on it and the car stopped. So, the brake needed a little more cajoling to do it's job. Then the tire was making a weird noise but I knew that it wasn't flat because I checked them before I made my way out of the lot and so I was hoping that it was just the ridged road I was on (I learned later when I got to Jenn & Klif's that there was a little nail in the right back rear tire). To get out of the SEA-TAC airport parking lot there are about ten different tolls you can go through. More of them said "debit & Credit" so I went to that one but as I was up at the booth there was no one there and that it was just for credit/debit cards. So I had to back up and then I almost went into another one and so I had to back up again and cut across three more lanes to get to the "Cashier" labelled one, so I could pay cash. Thankfully that was the only part of my trip that was a gong show. I did get honked at by a lady in a minivan because I was backing up and she was afraid that I wasn't going to notice her. I did...after she honked but she was far enough away that I would have had to back up way more to hit her. There were not a lot of cars and for this I was very thankful. After I was out of there, that is when I took a deep breath and got on my way I then had to drive to the I-5, merge into traffic and make sure that I was in a far right lane so that I wouldn;t have to do it last minute when I got to my exit. This was a good road trip because I was familiar with every exit I had to take but it was still stressful, especially when I had to shift lanes and there were a lot of cars around me. I found that most drivers are generous and will let you merge into their lane with enough notice. My pet peeve are the drivers that for some reason feel that they don't have to signal a lane change...ever! I was able to get to the Temple no problem and went to the 2pm session. It turned out that most of the session members were from the Coquitlam ward, except Marco's parents were there too. Sister Komm was working at the Temple on Friday too. After the session, I went down to the cafeteria to get some food so I wouldn't have to stop on the way back and I was the first one there and was asked if I wanted to join the staff as they blessed the food. It was so wonderful t be part of that. Every shift change they bless the food for their shift. I had a cup of soup, mashed potatoes & gravy, a bun and a drink for 3.75$, it was filling and delicious.
I drove back and was stopping at Jenn's house for a bit but when I got to the truck crossing exit the border traffic was backed up to the on-ramp so I decided to stay a little longer at Jenn's house. When I got to her place, parked the car, shut the engine off and got out of the vehicle...I felt a huge sense of relief and sudden exhaustion wash over me. I didn't want to get back into that car for a while. I had to return the car to the Enterprise rental place in Richmond (the airport branch - only one open on Good Friday) for 7:17am. I woke up in the morning at 6 @ Jenn's left her house a little before 6:30 and then had to fill up the car and that was an ordeal in itself because the cap wasn't coming off, the cashier was nice enough to come out and ask me if I needed help. I got over the border easily enough and then it was just driving to richmond and I had to take the Massey Tunnel. My worst fear is that an earthquake happens and the tunnels starts leaking or collapses as I'm driving through it, either as a passenger or driver. I was uber tense driving through...that tunnel is a km too long, I think. So I finally arrived at my destination and got out of the car...alive!! Yay! That was my first road trip and my next one will be April 27-29th...I am renting a car from LAX Friday night and will have it until Sunday, the day I fly back. Until then I am going to get really familiar with the freeway exits I need. I love Google Maps!