CSNbbs

Full Version: The Trip To Athens
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Pages: 1 2
So Stick and I decide to go to Athens to see the basketball game yesterday. Game's at 1:00 and we plan on leaving around 10:00am for the hour and 40 minute drive. He picks me up right on time and we decide to go up route 2 and over to Gallipolis. We stop in a supermarket looking for a cooler and find none. Five or six miles up route 2 we see the big flashing sign "road closed" due to high water. Having not gone very far, we decide to turn around, hit Huntington, cross the river, and go up Ohio Route 7.

We get into Proctorville and stop at a Kroger, again, to find a cooler. They have nothing. We decide to get a cat litter box and put ice in it to chill some beers. Finally I ask a guy if they have coolers and he says yeah over in the last aisle that we hadn't got to yet. We get there and they have styrofoam tiny coolers that are much taller than wide. We get two and transfer beer and ice. It is clear that the are not stable for car riding, so I stick one behind my seat on the floor. When I sit down the annoying squeak of styrofoam begins and immediately we know that ain't working. I look at Stick, we see the seatbelts in the back. Looks like a good fit. We seatbelt our wierdly shaped coolers into the back seats and we are on the road again. It is now about 10:30. We head up route 7.

A dinky, beat up, metal "road closed" sign is on the side of the road in a less than useful spot. We see it but can't determine if it meant rt 7 or some other sh!thole road on the side. We decide to persevere as time is starting to ebb. We get past the locks almost to Gallipolis and then we see the water well up over the road. @#$%. We had no map. We have to turn around. We pass a small carryout/slash bar. I figure some local knowledge might help us find and alternate route so I go in to ask. There I meet 2 of the oldest and most shriveled humans on the face of the earth and I'm told "You can't get there from here." Undaunted we head back towards Huntington.

There is a rest stop on the side of the road. As we drive by I see a map posted. We are back in the game. Stick slams on the brakes, while I look back to check on the kids (coolers). Our restraining system has been successful. We stare at the map for five minutes or so and we see that one road heads over the hill, away from the river, and connects to a rt 218 that heads to Gallipolis, away from the river. We head back up rt 7 to this Baden road just before the locks and make a left away from the flooding.

Our plan is successful until 218 merges with 7 again just before Gallipolis. Mentally we are starting to feel the pinch. It is now like 11:40 and it is clear that making the start of the game is going to be a challenge. We are up for it but the mile stretch of route 7 to Gallipolis is closed. We stop in a gas station and get a map. While Stick goes in, I ask some locals for directions around the blocked road. The first guy I catch at the pumps, opens his mouth to talk and has zero teeth and a wad of chew the consumes his entire mouth. It was like staring into a black hole. He tries to tell me something but is completely unintelligible. Couple good ole boys in a pick-up hear me pleading and tell me another way. We are off again.

We head out on the new route to Gallipolis, a good five mile circumvention, and get into town where there is a detour. We follow the detour but are unsure if it is going to mess up the new directions as it may have routed us around a key turn. Thankfully it did not and we see where we are to turn onto rt 160. Back in business. Nearly noon, we are consumed by the quest and persevere on. It is time to open the coolers as we head out another backwater (literally) road. We may not ever get there alive, but we are by-god gonna feel good when we do. Several miles up the road we run into Raccoon Creek. It is completely covering the route just before the town of Vinton. It looks shallow, but is moving very fast. We've seen to much weather channel and 911 rescue to attempt the crossing. I break out the map. We see some alternate routes we can use to get back on 160 further up the way.

We take roads no man has been on since they were created. Gravel roads, with cow piles all over them. At each turn we make towards 160 we run into raccoon creek and another flood zone. We keep backtracking and refiguring, navigating on-the-fly with our trusty map. Finally we get back on 160 as it nears game time. We are still about 45 minutes away. I see a route that cuts over to 32 and avoids Raccoon creek that crosses 160 again just before it meets 32. We take this road. This is the windiest, hilliest road in the universe. We got a few beers in us. I'm thinking I'm gonna hurl as we hit the corners with blazing speed and travers the short, sharp hills that pick up plus and minus g's as if on a perpetual roller coaster. We finally get to 32. It is a sight to behold. We now have four lane road into Athens. We are listening to the game on the radio and Marshall is down. We pull into Athens and park with about 3 minutes till halftime. Both of having to relieve ourself. We go water the trees, surrounded by vehicles and strategically behind the team bus. We decide to wait till after halftime to go in. Several more beers go down easy and we headed in.

No one checks us for tickets. We didn't have any anyway. There's about 1200 people in there and so space was available. I stop and talk to Woody for a second and we proceed to the corner of the student section. We sit down and some lowlife geek says we cannot sit there. No one is within fifty feet of us but we can't sit there. I did everything but threaten him and we still have to move. We leave and as soon as we do that pimple-faced brat leaves the section anyway. We were like wtf? So we go across the arena, right acroos the floor and site behind the Masrhall Bench. It was a really great place to sit except Jirsa wouldn't sit down so we had to look around him a bit. It was a frustrating game for us, but considering what we went through to be there it was emotionally charged.

Game ends, we lose. Now we have to get home. We know we are not finding the same route again to get back that way. I ask the team bus driver how they got there and he tels me 33 is open all the way to Ravenswood, now. We are on it again. Thankfully the reports are right this time. We get home.

The bulk of this could have been avoided if the media had mentioned one iota of road closures while discussing the game upcoming in Athens. They mentioned nothing. A simple "Hey if you're going, don't go this way" would have sufficed. But this one just goes in the books as another testament to the dedication of the Herd fan. If you made it this far with me I hope enjoyed our tale. Took us nearly 4 hours to go 95 miles. Oh well.
:rofl:
What a story! 04-bow

Hey Stick, does he smell like cheese?
Hey Stick...Connie said we were on TV. I guess sitting right behind the bench paid off, lol.
You aren't going to have stories like that trying to get to Tulane or Rice.

You're going to miss the MAC. :(
To summarize, Ohio sucks.

Also, Muther, I can't believe in a post that long you left out the ****** fighter.

I didn't notice any smell of cheese over my own overwhelming smell of green onions.
Stick4489 Wrote:Also, Muther, I can't believe in a post that long you left out the ****** fighter.
Apparently, this board has to protect the innocents from the word used to describe one who raises pugilistic roosters.
MUther Wrote:The bulk of this could have been avoided if the media had mentioned one iota of road closures while discussing the game upcoming in Athens. They mentioned nothing.  A simple "Hey if you're going, don't go this way" would have sufficed.
The media tried to tell you but you didn't listen, I believe the toothless wonder at the gaspump is the editor of the Herald-Dispatch. That is a great story. :rofl:
No..he was one of yours. We were on the dark side of the river.
Sherrif Bullard at the end of "Deliverance": Don't ever do nothin' like this again. Don't come back up here.
Stick: You don't have to worry about that, Sheriff.
MacLord Wrote:Sherrif Bullard at the end of "Deliverance": Don't ever do nothin' like this again. Don't come back up here.
Stick: You don't have to worry about that, Sheriff.
We arrived in Vinton yesterday afternoon just in time for the Vinton County Annual Squeal Like a Pig Festival. One hand stamp will get you unlimited canoe rides all day. I thought I'd never get Muther out of the Gerbil Roulette House.

[Image: flashlightvol14ed1-1.jpg]
Stick4489 Wrote:
MacLord Wrote:Sherrif Bullard at the end of "Deliverance": Don't ever do nothin' like this again. Don't come back up here.
Stick: You don't have to worry about that, Sheriff.
We arrived in Vinton yesterday afternoon just in time for the Vinton County Annual Squeal Like a Pig Festival. One hand stamp will get you unlimited canoe rides all day. I thought I'd never get Muther out of the Gerbil Roulette House.

[Image: flashlightvol14ed1-1.jpg]
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Stick4489 Wrote:
MacLord Wrote:Sherrif Bullard at the end of "Deliverance": Don't ever do nothin' like this again. Don't come back up here.
Stick: You don't have to worry about that, Sheriff.
We arrived in Vinton yesterday afternoon just in time for the Vinton County Annual Squeal Like a Pig Festival. One hand stamp will get you unlimited canoe rides all day. I thought I'd never get Muther out of the Gerbil Roulette House.

[Image: flashlightvol14ed1-1.jpg]
Actually, the city of Vinton is in Gallia County, not Vinton County. Never understood that.


OH (former Wellston, OH resident)
OVERHERD Wrote:Actually, the city of Vinton is in Gallia County, not Vinton County.  Never understood that.


OH (former Wellston, OH resident)
Try explaining that to the Commodore of the Raccoon Creek Regatta. You'll get about as far as Ned Beatty did.
Actually, I drove to Vinton County and back this weekend, taking Devil Mom home after her post-holiday trip East. No canoeing or gerbils, though.

The Hocking was as high above flood stage as it has been since the Army Corps of Engineers re-routed it around OU in 1972. Back in the day, South Green would flood every year or two, but even with the river well out of its banks, the college apparently stayed dry last week.

US 50 between Athens and Belpre was just barely above water in many spots. But the worst flooding I saw was in Parkersburg. Some folks who live near the Little Kanawha by the new bypass had water halfway up their garage doors.

Ohio 7 is a state-quality road in name only, and 160 is worse. Glad you guys made it there and back without washing away.
They did better than that. They made it there and back without washing.
Cheap gag #2: Glad to hear Athens was not flooded. Gives new meaning to the term "high and dry."
Wow MUther, that was some story!
DevilGrad Wrote:Actually, I drove to Vinton County and back this weekend, taking Devil Mom home after her post-holiday trip East. No canoeing or gerbils, though.

The Hocking was as high above flood stage as it has been since the Army Corps of Engineers re-routed it around OU in 1972. Back in the day, South Green would flood every year or two, but even with the river well out of its banks, the college apparently stayed dry last week.

US 50 between Athens and Belpre was just barely above water in many spots. But the worst flooding I saw was in Parkersburg. Some folks who live near the Little Kanawha by the new bypass had water halfway up their garage doors.

Ohio 7 is a state-quality road in name only, and 160 is worse. Glad you guys made it there and back without washing away.
I think they rerouted the Hocking around 1969-1970. My mom was a freshman there in 1971 and it was already completed.

Article in the Athens News about the rerouting:


After the flood of 1968, when the river crested at 24.65 feet, the Hocking River channel in Athens was moved to its current location, Courtney said. The previous river channel was much narrower, and the river often flooded the city and campus.

The channelization was built to protect the city from a flood similar to the 1968 flood, and Courtney said it worked. He added that this is the biggest flood the city has seen since 1968.

"It would (have been) total devastation to the university," Courtney said about last week's flood, if the channelization project had not been in place. "The project has really, really worked."

If the channel had never been changed, Richland Avenue would have flooded, 8-10 feet of water would have flooded Peden Stadium, the Convocation Center parking lot would have flooded, and the West and East greens would have flooded, Courtney said.

<a href='http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.php3?story_id=19367' target='_blank'>http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.ph...?story_id=19367</a>
The print edition of Saturday's Messenger said the project was completed in 1972, but that wouldn't be the first thing they've ever got wrong.

I do remember seeing the equipment when the Old Bobcat would take me along on road trips over there as a wee lad.

BTW, I guess they must have built a significant portion of the OU campus in a natural flood plain BEFORE those much-touted upgrades to the engineering program.
Pages: 1 2
Reference URL's