Californiaman Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 My day started at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday. I had driven almost 200 miles to Los Angeles. After the Alice In Chains show my buddy and I drove back to his place in Orange County. We got there about 11:50. His daughter was awake at the computer when we got there. He told her I was going to drive home to Santa Maria. She was like, "No way. You're spending the night. I'll get you some pillows and a blanket and you're staying here." I assured her I could be home in by 2:45 and that driving would be easier than having to take five or more hours to get home because of LA traffic in the morning. So I said my goodbye and hit the road at midnight for the trip up the coast to my family and home. My Honda Accord is pretty comfortable, therefore driving was pretty much a breeze. No traffic. Just miles of open road. I had some great music to listen to: Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter and of course Alice In Chains. Driving along at about 80 mph I was in Ventura by 1:30. The Pacific coast was etherial with the moon shining down on it. So clear was the night, I could easily make out the oil platforms off shore. At 1:43 I remember crossing the Santa Barbara county line and "yawning for the first time." Soon afterwards the yawn's became more frequent. I don't know if you've ever driven this stretch of the California coast, but it's pretty sparsely populated. Open grasslands along the coast soon give way to a rolling coastal hills. Somewhere between El Capitan and Refugio State Beaches, I hit the wall. It was after 2 a.m. and the yawn's and bleary vision hit. I had the music on, the moon roof (because it was night) open. I used my right hand to direct the cool ocean air onto my face and head to keep me awake. There were 18-wheelers parked on the edge of Highway 101. "At least they had enough sense to pull over and get some sleep," I remember thinking. That's when I also noticed that my speed had slowed to just over 65 mph and I knew I was getting tired. I opened the window for a few miles to help jolt me awake. That's when it hit me. "What could I do to really jolt myself awake and get the adrenaline flowing," I remember asking myself. The water. Cold water. I had a few bottles of cool water I had brought along for the trip. I reached over cracked one open and poured a couple of ounces right down the back of my neck and spine, instantly waking me up. I had another 30-40 minutes from the Gaviota Tunnel on 101 to Santa Maria and that little bit of water down my spine in the middle of the night did the trick. There was no falling asleep at the wheel. My heart rate was up and the adrenaline was pumping it's way through my system. It's always good to pull over when you're totally exhausted. But when you're bleary-eyed and tired from a day like I had sometimes a little Cold Water Down Your Spine In the Middle Of the Night does the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVeeWee Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 It's always good to pull over when you're totally exhausted. But when you're bleary-eyed and tired from a day like I had sometimes a little Cold Water Down Your Spine In the Middle Of the Night does the trick. +1, some other things that keep me awake while driving through the night: drive barefoot with open windows and radio on.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Coffee.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVeeWee Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Coffee.... forgotten, lots of... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Coffee.... I hate the stuff... tastes worse than dirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six-string Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I hate the stuff... tastes worse than dirt why do you think they call it "mud"? it was just ground this morning.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Coffee saved my *** more than once driving over the road...that and caffeine pills, which you aint supposed to mix, but I did more often than not. 70,000 pounds of tractor/trailer/freight ain't nothing to trifle with. And to think, I'm gonna do it again, what am I, nuts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I remember driving home one night after a night on the town with a buddy. We'd always shared 2 pitchers of brew at the local hut of pizza when we had our evenings out. I had, however, forgotten those 2 pitchers usually was split between 4 guys. This week-end it was just two of us and I downed a pitcher before I realized I was impaired. I switched to coffee and we stuck around the pizza place an additional hour to sober me up. I was feeling pretty good so, headed out. It was about a 35 mile trip home from small town A through Small town B, through C, then to my farm to market road home. I left town A, entered town B, then all of a sudden I was at my farm to market road turn-off. I'd totally missed / slept through two towns and the intervening country side, about 25 miles absolutely not within my memory! God was good to me that night. Never A- Flippin -gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Tommy, sounds like a good case for alien abduction. You haven't been having any strange visions of little green men have you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney1566 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 When I was younger I was an alarm responder in Bakersfield. This meant I worked nights. Generally around 3:00am I would always get dead dog tired and start to fall asleep, so I would hang my head out the window and yell at the top of my lungs in order to wake up. This would only work for short periods of time and had me thinking about what others within earshot were thinking of me.... Eventually, I mostly relied on those little bumps on the side of the road:-" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I can empathize. I haven't worked a 9-5 day job in my life. All the years I was operating cranes I was on call 24/7 and travelled for weeks at a time. Oh, Guitar & Feather, you can appreciate this one... The time I fell asleep at the wheel on I-10 near Sealy Texas and ran off the road at 43 mph. Doesn't sound very exciting, eh? The crane I was driving was 75 feet long, 10 feet wide, and weighed 234,000 pounds on 10 axles with 34 tires. The worst part was realizing I was gonna get stuck in the grass as soon as it started to sink. Throttle on the floor as I prayed/cursed and whipped it back over to the pavement and saved it. All in torturously slow-motion, hearing every pop, creak, groan and bang from tones of twisting iron... Got out and walked around in the 3:00 AM darkness to make sure everything was still there. How I didn't blow out half a dozen of those massive tires is truly a miracle. HUGE ruts in the grass shoulder and plenty of crushed asphalt where I ran off and got back on. Yep, I was WIDE AWAKE when I got back behind the wheel. I had a couple trucks that usually convoyed with me, but my boss had decided they could get a little sleep and leave later since they could easily catch up with me. 100 hour weeks were the norm, adequate sleep was not. Honestly, this is the reason I quit drinking and driving all those years ago. I could drive fine (honestly) but I couldn't stay awake behind the wheel. Too many close calls there so I gave it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Tommy' date='sounds like a good case for alien abduction. You haven't been having any strange visions of little green men have you?[/quote'] You mean... :- visions of little green aren't ... normal? Say Laney, just what is.. what did you call it..? An "Alarm Responder?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney1566 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 You mean... :- visions of little green aren't ... normal? Say Laney' date=' just what is.. what did you call it..? An "Alarm Responder?"[/quote'] Security Patrol. Complete with Sidearm. I used to clear buildings after the alarms would go off. Now you know why I view Gun Control as a well placed group of 60 rounds in the 10 ring!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Security Patrol. Complete with Sidearm. THAT'S rare these days.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney1566 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 THAT'S rare these days.... About 12 years ago. I wouldn't do it without one. You can bet a Cop wouldn't either!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 That's crazy Neo. I could hardly imagine wrestling a behemoth like that back onto the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Power steering, for all six steering tires. :-$/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortcon Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've found a combination that works pretty well for long-distance night driving. I was driving home from a Coheed & Cambria Concert in Puyallup, about 6 hours, starting at 11:20. Don't crack yourself out on excess caffeine and sugar, although some is important. I spaced 3 Red Bulls evenly throughout the trip, one about every two hours. But, for every Red Bull I drank, I drank 1 liter of water. Grab some food to go, Crunchwraps are always a good bet, they maintain themselves pretty well. Loud, engaging music helps too, my personal favorite for late-night driving is Dethklok. And, the most important part, Sunflower Seeds. Keep chewing those, and you won't fall asleep, should another element of the plan fail. Cigarettes are good too, if that's your thing. The nicotine helps keep you relaxed without tiring you out too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Sunflower Seeds. At the very least, I hold a bottle of water in my hand. If I drop it I get wet. Eating ice is my best defense. Fountain drinks, Coke over ice. LOTSA ice, so I drink the soda slowly and eat the ice while I'm at it. Mouth gets numb from the cold, so when you get droopy and bite your tongue it's not so bad.... Cigarettes are out for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.