Independent Route in Mobility

A couple weeks ago I had an independent route for my mobility. It was me, my cane and my shades on all alone without an instructor. The idea of no one following behind me to stop me from walking into the middle of the road or tell me not to cross because I didn't hear a car was unsettling. I had to keep telling myself to breath, focus on my hearing and sense of touch and that I can do it. On top of that, it was the worse day for me to travel under shades because of the weather. When there is rain everything is amplified and the water going down the drains overlap the car noises. I can no longer orient myself with the traffic or know where and which direction that traffic is going. I took my time and only had to cheat twice. The first time was when I was trying to cross a controlled intersection. There was a loud rushing sound of water going down into the sewer drain that was causing me to not able to pin point where the traffic was coming from. Since I was not able to do that I couldn't cross the street knowing I was going with my traffic. So I cheated and took my shades off and placed them back on. I continued down the road, focusing on every touch my cane made with the sidewalk. I jumped with every crack or hole that my cane got stuck in because I was concentrating so hard. My anxiety started to get high so I started breathing deeper breaths. Then, I got lost in an alley. The way that the road felt, it was like was a curb to the corner of the road, but I knew that it was too soon to be at a corner and I couldn't hear cars. I have a good sense of how long a block should last and same when I'm crossing a cross walk. I stood in the alley trying to figure out where I was and if I went into a parking lot or the alley. I couldn't tell if I was aligned straight with the side walk or hear my traffic because a gushing sound of water that was going down a metal drain from a roof. I knew it was not the sewer drain because it was going from above me. After five minutes or so, I lifted my shades to find that it was an alley and still had half a block left to the corner. I made myself straight with the side walk and I placed my shades back on.  I got lucky twice and got help across the street twice. I finally made it to Java, took off my shades and stood there a moment to collect myself. I made it! Yes, I had to cheat twice, but given my circumstances with the rain I was proud! My instructor was proud too!