11 Things I Learned Stuck in Traffic on MDI Wednesday Night

Getting on and off Mount Desert Island on Wednesday night, August 9, was a nightmare. The culprit, an RV that had drifted off the road, in Trenton.

Of course, it occurred as everyone was trying to leave the Island around 5 p.m. after working or visiting for the day.

It took me an hour and 45 minutes to go from Bar Harbor to Thompson Island, and as I got past the accident, traffic was backed up to the Nate Holyoke Builder's Building in Trenton, trying to get onto the Island.

Here are 11 things I thought of as I sat in line

1. Mom was right. You should definitely go to the bathroom before getting into the car! If I had had someone in the car with me, I would have made a trip to the woods while stuck. I thought about getting out and asking someone in a nearby car to move my car as traffic inched along. I also thought about using the facilities at Thomspon Island but thought I'd never get back into traffic!
2. It makes no sense to get frustrated. Getting mad or irritated wasn't going to move the traffic any faster.
3. You should always have a bottle of water or something to drink in the car! Shoutout to the people ahead of me that offered me a bottle of water. I had my own, but I appreciated the gesture.
4. You should always have snacks in the car. especially if you are traveling with children.
5. We really need to have reliable cell service. There are spots along Route 3 where there is no cell service and it would have been nice to call my wife to let her know I was stuck or to be able to find out why there was a delay.
6. Mainers are quick to pin the blame on tourists. I kept reading that this was all due to overcrowding of the Island and too many tourists.
7. At least no one, that I saw, blamed this on the cruise ships.
8. People rightfully expressed concern about what would happen if there was a need to evacuate the Island. Without being sure, I believe if there were an emergency and the Island needed to be evacuated, authorities would stop traffic coming onto the Island and both lanes of the bridge would be used as exits. I will try and confirm this over the next few days.
9. You should check to make sure that you have an emergency kit in your vehicle. There should be a blanket, jumper cables, a reflective device to put on the road in the event you are stuck, and a small shovel.
10. You should always travel with a cell phone so when you do have service you can let someone know that you will be delayed.
11. Reread #1! Always, and I mean always go to the bathroom before you get into your vehicle!