A Tunnel, and A Mystery.

Recently we were on vacation. We went to Holden Beach NC. A delightful little village right on the ocean. It is wonderful, or would be if it weren't for the heat, and humidity. And the ocean, which would be wonderful, if it weren't for all the salt, and predators, and sand. I am still covered with the stuff. Four days, and I can still feel the sand when I blink, grinding away. I know it got into my system and is eroding my joints with each step. Every drink of coffee and my elbows get weaker. It is pervasive, and permanent.

But, that isn't even the weird part. Here is the weird part, if you are keeping score. On the way back we were on Interstate 77 cruising through Virginia, A lovely state about halfway between Columbus and Holden Beach, if you are scoring the trip at home. And we hit a traffic jam. Two lanes of freeway, packed full of cars going 20 miles an hour.

Why, in the middle of this mountainous, forested area, was traffic so heavy? It was perplexing, and a little frustrating to a person baked red by the fierce North Carolina sun, and dripping sand with each movement. We limped along, stop and go, and stop some more.

And if you think that is strange, and I did, here is where it gets really odd. We hit a the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel carved out of the bottom of a big hill, or mountain, I am not sure where the line divides. We cruise through the long tunnel. Splashing out into the sunlight on the other end.

Here is where it gets strange. Traffic is light, and we speed along. What happened under that mountain that changed reality so much? What happened to almost half the cars that went into that tunnel? Where did they go?

It might be aliens, in Virginia, snapping up travelers. It might be the government, but I kind of doubt our government could manage such an elaborate plan and keep the details hidden. It might be a natural occurrence, magnetic fields creating a worm hole that rockets random cars driving under Big Walker Mountain into deep space. Whatever it is it made the trip easier.

So, if you are traveling that way, keep an eye on the cars around you, and let me know if you see anything suspicious.