I started a new job a couple of months ago and one of the prerequisites was to drive 4 hours northwest to another location to receive training. Destination: Clearwater. Crap. You mean I have to DRIVE outside of my comfort zone? I'm pretty sure the anxiety kicked in a month before the trip. I know there's a name for that disorder, but although I can't remember it and I don't feel like spending too much time trying to Google it, I did find this which would've come in useful at the time, thanks a lot.
Okay, so after a lot of research (including a Google Map and 2 GPS units), my decided route would be I-75 through Alligator Alley all the way up, then I-275 the rest of the way.
The drive went pretty well, I liked the Alley despite the boringness of it all - When you have a fear of driving, boring is good. I had a bunch of CDs so I was prepared for the 4-hours and I knew I wasn't stopping for anything.
I made it to I-275 and noticed that it was leading me through the Gulf. Neat! I looked forward and noticed that way, way down was this really high bridge. "Good thing I'm not driving on that," I thought to myself. So, I did the smart and safe thing and proceeded to attempt taking a picture of it.
Note: I kept the picture the original size for effect. What is THAT?!
So I continued the stretch of road wedged in between the no-doubt shark-infested waters of the Gulf and took another picture as I approached.
Dang, that's high. And oh my God, it's a part of the road.
So yeah, I drove over the gigantic bridge, scary scary, and after a few almost misturns (is that a word?) and minor freakouts, I made it to my destination.
The point though, is this freakin' bridge. I learned that it's the famous Skyway Bridge and it has a lot going on. I met one of the District Managers that works over where my training was and he said, "Did you notice all of the call boxes at the top of the bridge?" I sure did. "Yeah, I would be freaked out if I broke down up there, so it's smart that they put them there." He corrected me. "No, those are for the people who want to jump off. If they pick up the phone, the authorities try and talk them off." He was serious!
When I got home from my trip, I did more research on it and I also learned that the bridge had collapsed in 1980, so that made me feel awesome. In all, it's just an interesting bridge and I enjoyed the experience.
