This past Saturday, I went up to Deshler and Fostoria to do some railfanning. I’d originally planned going up for the Fostoria Rail Festival, but when I’d planned my vacation time from work, I’d planned it around the wrong weekend. That actually worked out in my favor since there were no crowds to deal with, especially when trying to shoot video and pictures of the trains. However, this trip turned into a series of incidents that showed how not to have a relaxing road trip.
After getting a later start than I wanted from home, I was on US 23 heading north past Marion and was almost in two accidents due to other drivers’ inattention and impatience. I had planned on stopping at the rest area just south of Carey to eat lunch and use the restroom, but the rest area was closed for construction. I then decided to get off at the Carey exit to use the restroom at the McDonald’s there, but there was construction at that interchange, and the only exit closed was the one I needed to use. I circled back to the southbound Carey exit (which took longer than I’d anticipated), and when I got to the McDonald’s, they were closed for remodeling. I went to the Shell station next door, and their restroom was out of order. I continued on to Deshler, and on the way, my scanner started beeping that the batteries were low, forcing me to listen to the beep all the way to Deshler.
Once at Deshler, with no trains coming, I ate my lunch out of the back of my Jeep, and that’s when about a dozen bees started flying around me and my food. After a while, they took off, and after eating, I went for a walk around the junction to take pictures.
While on the walk and getting some pictures of the junction from angles that I hadn’t seen on my previous trips, and that’s when I had an accident. I’d already put my video camera on my tripod and had been carrying it around as I walked. When I wanted to take pictures, I’