"I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm, or was he just lost in the flood?"

In late June, 1998, my wife and I left our home for two weeks of much needed vacation. Our plan was to take two days to drive to her sister's house in Akron, Ohio and spend a few days with her sister and family, then spend a day driving to Buffalo, New York, where we would spend the better part of a week with her aunts and uncles and another of her sisters and family. After this, we would spend another day driving from Buffalo down to northeastern New Jersey, just outside of New York city to spend most of the second week with my aunts and uncles and grandmother, before returning home over the course of two final days of vacation. When we returned, it would be mid-July and time for me to prepare for my return to work when marching band camp started in late-July.

What we didn't realize when we packed the car and started on our way was that we were embarking on the vacation from hell.

"When I was a boy, just about every summer we'd take a vacation. And you know, in 18 years, we never had fun." - Clark Griswold, National Lampoon's Vacation

We figured out that something strange was going on when we were driving north on I-77 in West Virginia. At some point during that drive, we started noticing cars parked along the side of the Interstate. We couldn't figure out what in the world was going on, but soon we began to see people walking through the woods along the side of the Interstate as well. Military vehicles, they turned out to be National Guard, then began passing us, some pulling trailers with boats. Soon, we passed over an overpass above a minor road that ran below I-77. That was when we figured out we might have a problem. The water had totally covered the road signs for the road below and was lapping up against the bridge on which we were driving. On the exit ramp, we noticed some of the National Guard vehicles we had seen earlier. They were launching boats from the exit ramp. This was a search and rescue staging area.

When we reached the Ohio Welcome Center, we pulled off the road, along with most of our fellow travelers, looking for some news. Traffic on I-77 had slowed nearly to a crawl. We learned of the severity of the flooding during this stop. Several of our fellow travelers were devising strategies to circumnavigate the flooded area. Some of them were planning on heading east along the Ohio River towards Pennsylvania, while others planned to head west toward Columbus. Still others, including us, planned to just drive valiantly north and hope for the best. After all, we were going to Akron, which was directly north of us. A detour would cost us a day's driving or more.

"This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest." - Clark Griswold, National Lampoon's Vacation

At Marietta, Ohio, the first major town across the Ohio border, we learned that the Interstate was closed ahead. We were guided by National Guardsmen into Marietta. We decided to take Route 60 north out of Marietta, along the Muskingum River. As we were leaving Marietta, the National Guardsmen monitoring conditions on Route 60 closed the road behind us. We were the next to last car allowed on the road that evening.

We were unaware that we had driven into the heart of a storm system that stalled over southern Ohio and northern West Virginia from June 26-30. The area along the Muskingum River in particular, received more than 10 inches of rain over a 96 hour period. During the entire month of June, this area received more than 270% of the normal rainfall for the month. In a 6 hour period, 5 inches of rain fell. There were 12 deaths in Ohio during this storm. This link to the Disaster News Network contains an article on the storm. We were driving into the heart of it. Colliding storm fronts were "training" along the Muskingum River, producing heavy rainfall, strong winds, and violent electrical storms. We had no idea what lay ahead.

"When you drive, drive, drive through the storm and dark, as if you was a driving, head on, to the world without end . . ." - Charles Dickens

As we followed Route 60 north out of Marietta, we noticed the angry, swollen Muskingum River to our left. It was well over its banks already and in some spots approaching the road. We drove past houses on the right side of the road, on high ground, where families were gathering, watching the river edge closer. We also drove past houses on the left side of the road, whose roofs were barely showing above the dark water. I have no idea how long we drove. It was nerve-wracking; the very definition of white-knuckle driving. The storms were brutal and the water was always present, just to our left. The only other vehicles we saw on Route 60 were National Guard vehicles. At one point, we approached a section of road where flares were burning on the yellow center line, along with caution signs. The river was washing away the southbound lane. It was swirling up and tearing away chunks of asphalt. The river was only feet from our car.

"The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as the sun went down carrying glad day elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up against it, menaced thunder and lightning. Large drops of rain soon began to fall, and, as the storm clouds came sailing onward, others supplied the void they left behind and spread over all the sky. Then was heard the low rumbling of distant thunder, then the lightning quivered, and then the darkness of an hour seemed to have gathered in an instant." - Charles Dickens

Time meant nothing and everything. At some point, we drove through the town of Beverly, Ohio, home of the Aquilas Muskingum Power Station. It was truly frightening to see the huge cooling tower of this power plant partially submerged under the river. Near McConnellsville, Ohio, Route 60 ceases to follow the river as closely, so there was a sense of relief. We drove into Zanesville, Ohio, intent on following I-70 east to I-77 and north to Akron. To our dismay, I-70 was only open westbound to Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately, we were told that there were no hotel rooms to be had in Zanesville. Gas stations were running out of gasoline and closing as well, but we did find one and filled up our tank. We were told that the nearest hotel vacancy was near Columbus, several hours away. Darkness would fall in just a few hours, and we were faced with no place to stay and no way out.We began consulting a map with another traveler, when a woman entered who had driven down from Cleveland to rescue her mother from the rising floodwaters, only to be told that her mother's town no longer existed and she would not be allowed any farther into the flooded area. On her journey south from Cleveland, she had discovered the road that was being used by the National Guard. She showed us the route on our maps and volunteered to lead the way. So, we joined a 3 car caravan and continued to follow Route 60 north to Dresden, Ohio. In Dresden, we got on Route 16, which we followed to Coshocton, where we picked up Route 36 to New Philadelphia, Ohio.

We found a hotel room in New Philadelphia and immediately succumbed to a deep and much needed sleep. When we awoke in the morning, we discovered that the hotel had begun taking in refugees after the rooms were sold out. The ground floor common areas were packed with people. It was an amazing sight. We had made it through the flood and drove on to Akron that day. Little did we know that this was only the beginning.

"No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one." - Elbert Hubbard