That NJ parking lot nightmare you’ve most likely experienced

Welcome to New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the nation. A place where dealing with hectic situations is just a way of life.

It's something we're all used to living in the Garden State. Not only do we live fairly close to one another, but that crowdedness also shows when it comes to our roadways.

And not just our roads, but our parking lots as well. Think about how crowded our parking areas get from time to time.

Those of us who drive in the Garden State are all too familiar with this. But is it just drivers who deal with that stress and anxiety?

Apparently not. And out of all people, my very own son had a nightmare involving a New Jersey parking lot.

Now for context, my son is almost 8 years old. It just goes to show that even our youngest citizens take note of the chaos that sometimes happens throughout the state.

What made this one interesting though is that a very similar situation occurred to us that directly related to what he dreamt.

He said he remembered being stuck inside a parking lot with no way out. He remembered being in a car that was just trying to find an exit, but could never find its way.

He also remembered the parking lot being very crowded, with cars driving fast everywhere. People also walking everywhere and carts everywhere they shouldn't be.

It was so intense apparently, that it got to a point of panic that there would be no way out. So crazy that an almost 8-year-old would even dream that.

But that was essentially it. Being stuck in a parking lot with people driving and walking like maniacs and carts all over with no exit in sight.

And if you really think about it, how many of us can relate to that when it comes to certain parking lots here in New Jersey?

But wait, it got better. We had to drive up to Edison recently to take care of some business involving work on our home.

We had both our sons with us since it was just easier to take them as opposed to finding a sitter for a short period of time. And on our way home, we decided to make a quick stop for a few items at the local Walmart.

Well, this particular parking lot didn't make it easy to get out of. It had a bunch of entrances but only seemed to have one exit.

It was a fairly large plaza, also home to a Costco. But after we got what we needed and went to leave, I couldn't easily find my way out of that parking lot.

Everywhere I went that I thought would be an exit, turned out to either be just an entrance or no outlet whatsoever.

And being I wasn't familiar with this particular plaza, I didn't know exactly where all the exits were located. This went on long enough to where my son mentioned how this was like his nightmare.

It was kinda funny in a sense. Here we are stuck in our own parking lot nightmare that paralleled what he dreamt only days earlier.

If there were multiple ways out, then they sure did a good job of hiding them. This was quite the journey of trying to figure it out.

But that did change when we finally realized where the way out was. And as I mentioned earlier, it appeared to be the only one for this plaza.

And to top it off, there was a fairly long line of traffic trying to exit. That line of traffic, by the way, was mostly courtesy of a long red light that only added to the length of time we spent inside the parking lot.

So not quite the same nightmare my son had, but similar enough. Some drivers were still driving a bit more aggressively than they should've been and people were walking throughout the lot without looking.

And that delayed wait trying to get out was almost like an exit with no escape. A whole line of cars that never leave.

Almost like checking into the Hotel California. The only difference is, we did eventually leave.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.