Story Behind the Card - Love You to the Bay Bridge and Back

I had a recent phone conversation with my Dad who spends the winter in Florida and was getting ready to head back up north to make the long drive to Cape Cod.  He and my step mom were planning to try a different route through Lewes, Delaware and acoss the Ferry to Cape May.  And this would take them over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  But my Dad said he wasn't a fan of this idea because he hates bridges.  I said "I hate bridges too!"  How did I not know this about my Dad?  Probably because I am my father's daughter and we don't let anyone know if something is bothering us. And this got me thinking that our I Love You Over the Bay Bridge and Back greeting card is really perfect for people like us who hate crossing it!  Maybe it's one of our most popular love cards for a reason. 

I mean the Bay Bridge does have a reputation for being America's scariest bridge and some people pay someone their hard earned money to drive them across it. Check out the Kent Island Express. And once you've watched the Key Bridge collapse on repeat like a child's toy in a matter of seconds, well the Bay Bridge can seem even freakier.  When my husband and I go to the Eastern Shore we often go up to Delaware and come back down, not to avoid the bridge but just because it makes more sense for us traffic wise.   So even though I had been to the Eastern Shore many times, I hadn't actually gone over the Bay Bridge in years, until I had a meeting on Kent Island a few years ago.  Going over the bridge just made sense. I wasn't worried. It had been so long, I didn't even remember how much I hated it. Once through Annapolis, I could see that big body of water on my GPS indicating that I was getting closer.  But as I turned a corner and saw that bridge, I about lost my mind.  There's something about seeing the Bay Bridge on your approach and how it turns to the left so you can see how long the span is and how high (186 feet at it's peak) and you say to yourself, "I'm going over that?"  I gripped the steering wheel, rode in the middle lane and stared straight ahead while envisioning cars crashing into me and sending me spiraling over the edge or a low flying and hopelessly lost 747 taking the whole thing down.  I mean my mom did give me one of those window punch tools in case I find myself in my car floating in the Chesapeake Bay, but if you go over the Bay Bridge, I'm pretty sure you're a goner. Once I could feel my car on the downward slope I knew I was halfway over and just maybe I was going to make it. I took some deep breaths, and I lived to tell the tale.

My dad and I spoke again a few weeks ago once they arrived back home in Massachusetts.  My step mom convinced my Dad that despite his fear of bridges, they were going over it.  Basically, he needed to suck it up. And you know what he said?  The Bay Bridge was fine. No problem!  Maybe if you make it out to be the worst thing in the world in your head, well then it's just no big deal. Do you hate going over the Bay Bridge?  Let us know in the comments below. And check out our Bay Bridge greeting card, the  perfect way to show your love anytime.