Trip to the Outside/Crashing the truck into a ditch

"The Outside," or commonly referred to as "the Other Side" means pretty much anywhere outside of Hana...which is pretty accurate considering how remote our location is. Making a trip to the "other side" normally requires an entire day and lots of lists. The only thing that exists in Hana is a gas station and two general stores, so if you want anything like a coffee pot, variety in food, clothing, shoes, books, music, electronics, bulk stuff, cheap booze, or anything besides banana bread or a plate lunch, then you have to go to the other side. And you can't even really go over there and go out partying because you have to drive the treacherous Hana Hwy back home and you can't be wasted or you will die. So trips to the other side usually consist of Wal-Mart, Costco, this place called Savers that everyone loves that I still haven't been to, and at least two meals out considering you never get to eat anything besides Hana food.

A trip to the outside was our Friday, and it was three of us girls from the banana bread stand...good times had by all, and i didn't have to drive home so i got to enjoy some awesome tequila in Paia where we had dinner. Good stuff.

Sat was Red Sand beach in the morning and work that afternoon, then dinner at Ananda's house with a bunch of people. Sun morning i worked at the stand, and then the last couple of days have been a blur of baking...my bread kicks ass now, so hopefully i can keep up with all the shite i have been talking about how good my bread is. hee eh

Last night was our friend's last night in town so four of us went over to the hotel restaurant/bar (the only place in Hana open past 7:30) to not only celebrate their last night in town, but also to rejoice in the fact that I didn't wreck the truck when I spun out on a wet spot in the rain and sent the myself over a really steep embankment.

So here's the story:
I went to the dump to do a trash run, and it was raining (normal Hana weather, not hard rain). I was on my way back to the farm and has just passed Hana school where the police are really strict about the 20mph speed limit, so I was going slow already. I was accelerating slowly out of a corner and the back end of the truck started to fishtail. I drifted into the other lane just as an SUV appeared in the oncoming lane. I overcorrected hard because I was scared out of my mind of having an accident, which of course sent me to the other side of the road too hard. My tires caught the edge of an almost vertical jungle embankment and the truck crashed over the edge and came to a stop almost on it's side. I couldn't believe i didn't roll it. I was freaking out sitting sideways in the driver's seat, clutching the driver's side door/window, when the truck finally shuddered and set down in something more like a 45 degree angle instead of on its side.

Im sitting in there in the truck, adrenaline pumping through my brain and finally reality starts to register. The radio is still on, and the ignition is beeping because i have the door open with the keys in. I can't even climb out of the truck because it's too steep of an angle, but i seem to be fine otherwise...Like two minutes later as I'm freaking out about the fact that i seem to have crashed the truck, a police car drives by and stops. The local Hana cop was actually just on her way back to the station after stopping to buy banana bread from the stand--crazy right? So she drops me off at the farm after getting my license info, and I have to go up and tell Paul that i just crashed the truck into the jungle.

Horrified--the only way to describe the way i feel at this point.

To make a long story short, the jungle saved me. I ran off the road at the one point where there was just thick undergrowth, no big rocks, no trees (i was literally inches between these metal stakes and a tree, and about a foot from a tree in front of me), and the thickness of the foliage caught the truck, kept it from flipping over, kept me from hitting the trees in front of me, and saved me from f&*%ing up the underside of the truck. I could have totally hit those people, i could have rolled the truck and totalled it, i could have hurt myself, and I could have damaged the truck much worse. Instead, in two hours time, a local tow guy came, looked at it, pulled it out with no problems (while i helped direct traffic and worried myself sick), and we drove it back safe and sound to the farm.

wow.

wow, wow, wow.

God is so good to me. I have been here less than a month, and this could have been so much worse, but I must have had angels holding onto the back bumper, keeping me safe, because it is amazing how safe and sound everything ended. So that is my amazing story for the day...I was practically crying i was so happy when i watched the truck drive away seemingly fine. It was amazing, and I am very, VERY thankful to God that He kept me safe and the truck was fine (even if they never let me live it down).

Well, that's about all the drama I can handle, I think I'll go do something boring, like laundry.

Miss you guys...does anyone read this thing? Hope you enjoy it if you are reading, cuz I'm thinking about all those people I miss...