2009-03-08 33 -85

Planning

As previously stated, We had our eye of the Time-Traveller geohash. After waiting for the right set of coordinates, today was finally the day. The coordinates in the Anniston, Alabama graticule were directly on I20, in the Westbound lanes. We were pushing the hour that we had, and we knew that whatever the result, it was going to be tight. But with the opportunity too good to pass up, we had to go for it.

Expedition

We started a timer when we left the Atlanta coordinates at approximately 12:40 Eastern Standard Time. The roads leading away from the hash started off with 40 mph speed limits, which was good. But we also had to drive straight through the little town of Carrollton on our way to I20. We knew that this part of the drive, before we hit I20, would be crucial. It was a Sunday afternoon, and so traffic shouldn't have been too bad. We did hit some unfortunate traffic lights though, but the town center did seem pretty nice. But the fact of the matter is we didn't get to I20 until just after 1:00 EST. According to the maps, we had 49.0 miles to go. A little math, and we needed to average between 75 and 80 mph. The speed limit of 70. Our goal was still within reach.

The next forty minutes were some of the most dramatic of our geohashing careers, and perhaps in all of geohashing ever. The entire time as Chris drove, Nick sat in the passenger seat with the timer, GPS and camera. The GPS would periodically give an estimated time of arrival at the hash, which he frantically compared with the time we had left. The first reading he got wasn't good. We had 35 minutes left, and the GPS told us we wouldn't reach the hash for another 40 minutes. That set the stage. Chris asked the Sentra for some more power, and somehow, it delivered. The miles and minutes ticked past until we had closed the time gap. But just as soon as that would happen, we'd get stuck behind slower cars. We were on a mission; these cars were obviously not. So for the duration of the trip we would make time when we could, only to lose it when we caught slow cars in the left lane. The time gap hovered around zero. The most we could manage to accumulate was about 45 seconds, but it never lasted. We were also constantly looking out for police cars. It was tense.

Then it came down to it. We were less than a mile away, with less than a minute left. We were in the left lane, going 80 behind another car, as we watched a semi-truck getting pulled over for a ticket. That could have been us! But we didn't have time to watch, because Nick had to be ready to take a picture at the hashpoint. Mere seconds and mere feet remained. The moment was here, we were at the hash, and our entire universe was shrinking to a single point in space and time that was our goal. Then Nick snapped the picture. Had we made it?

Yes, we had! But did it really have to be so close?

We had done it. The first recorded Time-Travelling geohashers. Our pulses were racing, and the intensity of the moment was still with us. Following photo confirmation, we slowed down to 65 and took the next exit we saw. There was a gas station and a Dairy Queen, so we stopped for some spoils of victory. Chris got an Arctic Rush and Nick had a Blizzard. We enjoyed our treats as we allowed our parasympathetic nervous systems to restore calm. Then we refueled the Sentra and headed back to a hero's welcome in Atlanta. Well, not really, but in our minds it was pretty good.