Have you ever had that nagging feeling of dread? I did a couple of days before we left for Madison, IN for a KCBS State BBQ Competition. I have always looked forward to this competition, but for some reason it felt as if there was a cloud of dread over it. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just felt like I didn't really want to go, and the closer it got the stronger the feeling. Well, judging by the events that unfolded I was justified in feeling the way I did.
We have been to the this competition for four years now. The first year we went to check things out and see how it's done and the last three we have competed. In 2006 we were traveling home and were just outside Carmel when I received a phone call from my son Josh, who was on tour out east with his band. I had spoken with him earlier that day and he was telling me that they were on their way to Virginia and were going through the mountains. I told him they had better be careful to take care of the band van, which was also Tim Burkey's personal vehicle, because it had to last them awhile yet. He told me he was fully aware of that and assured me they were being careful. When the phone call came in as we were traveling I answered with my usual Hello, and then What's up? Then Josh's response; "Oh nothing.....we just watched our van burn to the ground!" Not something a mom wants to hear at any time let alone when she is also traveling, is still about 3 hours from home yet and knows that her son is also traveling and is 14 hours from home. My first response was "oh No!" I was convinced we had to rescue them....my husband thought otherwise and as it turned out someone else was available to do so.
The second year (2007) we went to this competition we had the whole family there as team members. It was great. Well, Jason didn't seem to think so and I don't think it was exciting enough for some of the others either, but I thought it was great as son Josh and his friend Josh Drake did the running for us. They became aquainted with a couple of the golf cart drivers who also helped in bringing the competitors and their entries to turn in their stuff. They have a stiff deadline and if you are too far away from the drop off table you might not make it if you misjudge your time. Josh and Josh had a pretty good time. The others looked like they were too as they began to chat with people who were there to sample the competitor's cuisine. Josh and Lisa's car had been totalled in an accident not too many days before the competition and they were driving a nice rental Pacifica. Josh and Lisa and Josh Drake and Jason rode back in that and left us behind as they wanted to travel a little faster than we were since we had the grills, cooker etc. Crystal and Brandon drove Crystal's car and decided that we were too slow for them also. They drove around us and left us pretty much in their dust. Then came the phone call......From Crystal this time....her car had just stopped running.....they were driving along and it just stopped. The coasted to the side of the road and we stopped when we caught up with them. As it turned out Brandon had AAA and we able to get the car towed to Peru and then Jon and Brandon went to get it the next day. In the meantime we all stopped at the Texas Roadhouse in Kokomo....no one got BBQ. Hopefully they didn't notice that we all smelled like smoke....however, were still wearing our "Port-A-Jon's BBQ" Shirts. I think it was a dead give away that we were a BBQ competition team. It was a rather late night since we lost about 2 hours trying to get the car towed and waiting for the truck to arrive. It turned out that her timing belt had broken and as luck would hav it....bad luck that is....it did some damage to her engine. The head had to be rebuilt. It was an expensive repair.
In 2008 we turned things around a bit, not only did we not have any car issues, we managed to take 2nd place in chicken with around 60 teams competing. We were so excited! But this year.....there was that looming feeling that I just didn't want to go.....but I couldn't back out....I had things in my car that Jon and Larry needed and Chris was making a dessert. We had to go! We got a late start as usual, but it would end up being later than we have ever been before. Chris and I stopped at Sonic between Kokomo and Carmel to eat supper. Upon getting back into the car it began to sprinkle a bit. We commented that it was perfect timing, but we didn't realize just how perfect until moments later as we pulled out onto US 31 the sky opened up and it was pouring down rain. It poured for quite awhile. We drove in and out of rain the entire remainder of the trip. We got onto Interstate 465 where our directions said we would stay on for 41 miles. Our mistake was watching the miles tick away instead of watching the signs. We missed our exit by 21 miles. Once we caught the mistake we were already about half way back around and had no choice but to pick it up on the other side.....(for those of you who are not aware of it I465 goes in a complete circle around Indy). We got back around determined not to miss our exit again....but the rain, confusing signs and a big semi truck managed to prove otherwise. At least this time we noticed it right away and only had to go to the next exit to get off and then back on the right path. During that stint on 465 we did see a police helicopter with a search light shining down on the interstate as they were searching for something or someone. That was a first for us! Now having finally made it onto Interstate 74 the directions said we would be on that 1.6 miles....and to take exit 134.....wrong again. We got on at mile marker 96...so that tells you how far off those directions were. I think someone was having an off day and decided to mess with us when they entered those directions into the database! While on 74 I tapped the brakes in a panic once because the lights from the cars and the rain cast a shadow that looked like a person walking across the road. Great..now I am seeing things. It would have been nice if I had been that observant where our exit off of 465 had been concerned.
We were on I74 for what seemed like an eternity and we still weren't convinced we were on the right road....till we found our exit and the town that was listed on the directions. We still had quite a few miles to go, but now it would all be rural. Goodie! It was getting late and we were getting so tired....and every time the rain would quit Chris would say something like, "well at least its not raining anymore!" and every time it would start to rain again.....so I would reply..."Well...it wasn't!" Larry called Chris somewhere on that road to ask our whereabouts and I head Chris say..."I don't know!" Which was true.....we still weren't convinced this road would even get us there. Then I saw a familar landmark and a sign for a town I recognized and it was evident that we were still indeed on earth! I heard Chris ask if it was raininig in Madison and repeat that it was not....I said..."Well...it will be when we get there!" Since it seemed that it was always raining where ever we were! After she hung up we realized that rain had stopped for a moment yet again....and then just as Chris leaned forward to take a closer look at the windshield to check for signs of rain again.....I saw this little black fir ball waddling across the road.....thinking it would go on across I only slowed down, but then realized that it had now stopped in my lane and right in front of me....so I slammed on the brakes and swerved hoping it wouldn't turn back and run into me or my path.....this happened a lot more quickly than it took to describe and Chris had no clue why I did it...so she thought we were going to crash and closed her eyes. Then after it was over she asked if I had seen another person/shadow....! I then said.."You mean you didn't it?" That was when she told me she was studying the windshield for rain....not trying to find out what the little black shadow was....I laughed and said..."It was a skunk!" Actually she did see it before the whole incident was over, but she hadn't seen it when I hit the brakes. So....we began to laugh about that.! She did say something like "poor thing..it was scared!" Yeah...like neither of us were? She was scared I was about to hit something (which I was) and I was scared it was going to spray us.....our presence in Madison would be well known for sure! It wasn't long after that we arrived in Madison....right around midnight. Then after a brief visit with the guys....and a midnight stroll to check out the competitions rigs....we left for the hotel....only to miss our road and drive who knows how many miles out of the way. Then we ended up having to ask for directions because the road we were looking for didn't seem to be there....that was because on the way back through the sign was missing. I am sure that was done just for us!
We managed to get to the hotel and finally get some sleep. Then the next morning....my car began to give us problems. The transmission was no longer healthy.....so I had to baby it the rest of the week end.....if only the issues had stopped there, but it was not so! The competition didn't go well.....we didn't even place in anything....after placing second in chicken the year before, we got nothing. Then the fella next to us was a friend of ours and had borrowed our tent canopies......unforunately, his water pan fell into his hot charcoal and caused a bit of an explosion of hot steam, smoke and ash....it looked like a volcano had erupted. Brownish gray smoke and ash went all over him (he got a steam burn), the underside of our tents, all over the cook site....ours included.....I did mange to save Chris' dessert by quickly tucking it under the table which ws covered by plastic. To say the least there was a nice mess. Ash all over everything....!
After the competition was over we all headed back to the hotel....We had to check in again because we had reserved two rooms for the second night since the guys would be joining us....that's when things went south again. They had gotten the reservations wrong...and gave us smoking rooms instead of non smoking ones....I realize that we smelled like BBQ smoke.....but that's no reason to give us a smoking room! At any rate.....there was nothing else to be had...so we went and checked one of the rooms out. It met with our approval so Chris and Larry took that one and we took the other one.....which turned out to be less than adequate....! It reaked of cigarette smoke and was stuffy too....! The air was on and I was rather cold so I immediately turned on the heat...On high! Not a good thing to do! The dust in the unit began to burn off and it smelled terrible.....the smoke alarm thought so too and went off. I hurried and turned the temperature to cool and that shut off the heat and then ran over and fanned the alarm with my pillow...that shut it down as well. I am not sure what Jon was doing during all of this! Probably watching and shaking his head. It must have been quite a sight....Oh wait, I think that was when he was trying to turn on more lights realizing that we had some burned out bulbs! It was quite a scene none the less. I then decided to go to the front desk and inquire as to whether there was a double non smoking room since our room was really and truly a smoking room now! She said she had nothing non smoking.....great....but I did get a can of odor remover which she told me to keep. I didn't take it literally and left the can for housekeeping....which I think did most of the smoking in the rooms...judging by the way they were puffing away outside the hotel in the morning. When I got back Jon had turned the heat on low and the smoke alarm was not sounding so things were relatively calm! Dan and Deb's room was no different....they had a double...and it had one bed not cleaned...the power button for the tv was missing and so was the remote...(they probably skipped town with another guest)....and they had a light bulb burned out as well.
We went down to the lobby to find out if there was something to do in this little town, but every time my brother-in-law, Denny called a place listed on the internet their phones were either no longer in service or they just didn't answer. Great...nothing to do! We did get some directions for a place in town that supposedly did Karaoke, but it was the gal at the front desk who gave them and she wasn't even sure what color the big blue bridge in town was....(it was blue but it was so long since she had been over it she said they could have painted it by now) and we were going to trust her directions.....??? Well....as you might have guessed...they were wrong..but we had enough sense not to trust them and turned earlier anyway....only to have to stop and ask a couple teenagers how to get there and they informed us that the place was closed down too! We ended up driving back into Madison and looking for a place to eat and something to do there in the newer section of town.....we ended up at Bob Evans!!! Well....it was the only place we all agreed on and it was open!! We left there and went back to the hotel....and to bed! The next morning we got up and headed for Clifty Falls State Park to have a breakfast buffet at the Inn. It was delicious! My car didn't like the hills though and was getting worse. I tried not to notice in hopes that denial might actually work in this case; it didn't. We babied it all the way home and I took it in to have it serviced today....only to find out that the transmission needs to be rebuilt! We are three out of four on cars...even though Tim's van wasn't on our trip...it happpened during our trip to Madison! Coincidence or omen?! I think next year I will rent a vehicle....it may cost a few bucks to do that....but a $2200.00 repair may be avoided!!
