I'm so far behind that I may never catch up. So, I've got an airplane in the back of a 26' Penske one way rental truck in basically Spokane, Washington. All I need to do is drive this rig home. Easy, peasy. Just how crazy am I? I ended the first night in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho which is practically next door to Spokane- but still in another state which was my most basic requirement for stopping for the day. This was nice, flat uncomplicated driving which was exactly what I needed- practice for hauling my precious cargo. It also turned out to be the end of my cell phone reception for about a day and a half. You never miss the phone so much as when it just won't work. Day two was up and onto Montana- one big ass big sky state. With mountains. Lesson one was that the truck does not really like going up the mountains. Much diesel got burned during this lesson as the truck crawled up the mountain. Lesson two was that on Sunday it is entirely possible to get exactly no radio reception. I had always assumed that on Sunday, of all days, no matter where you are in the good old US of A, between FM and AM on the radio dial, you could always at least get a station with some fire and brimstone preacher yelling about eternal damnation or some such thing. Nope. It is entirely possible to get nothing but the rumble of the diesel engine lumbering along. By great fortune and excellent random timing I did connect with an old college friend who lives in Helena, MT, which was exactly on my GPS directed course, and during my all to short visit she figured out that I had not planned this drive very well and took me to her library where she checked out a 27 disk book on CD for my driving entertainment. A 27 CD book!!! Holy shit what had I gotten into? The book, Game of Thrones, was absolutely perfect for driving and I pulled into Ithaca as disc 25 finished up. Thank you Tamara. I dare say that I probably pushed on a bit further each night just to finish another chapter. Anyway day 1, at least my first full day on the road, ended in Billings, MT. Along the way I stopped at an official state sponsored rest stop to use a pay phone- pay phones are just about gone from the American landscape like the buffalo- and the bill for that collect call just came in- $30.00 for 10 minutes. Ouch! Billings is not my favorite MT city, cruddy room, cruddy restaurant. No need to hurry back. In general the weather for this drive was nothing short of spectacular, except for the smoke. There was smoke on the horizon and in the air from Montana to Ohio. I never did see the fires but they had to be something special to behold to make smoke like that. Day two was just lots and lots of driving- Billings to St.Cloud, Minnesota. In North Dakota I got back cell reception- yeah!!! Being able to communicate was more important than actually calling someone. I kept listening to my book, now deeply engrossed in the story. There were 2 places along the hiway in ND where the water being held back by sandbags was actually higher than the road. And this was months after the mighty Mouse river had roared. I pushed as hard as I could, trying to get to Minneapolis so that I might visit my brother-in-law and his lovely wife, but I flat ran out of steam by St.Cloud and had to call it a day. Or night. This might have been a mistake because the next morning I found myself firmly stuck in Minneapolis rush hour traffic. The other drivers were nice enough but my god who the hell wants to sit in traffic like that? Ever? So much for my schedule. The GPS went crazy resetting my time to the next waypoint. Of course, once past Minneapolis the road opened up and the miles rolled on by- until Chicago. Chicago pm rush hour that is. Its like a graduate course for the Minneapolis drivers. Once again the other drivers were great and very forgiving- which I needed- but I can't imagine just what is it that allows a person to justify this kind of agony on a daily basis. No thank you. Day 3 ended in Burlington, Ohio. I was trying for Toledo- I wanted to yell out "Holy Toledo"- but, seeing double and feeling fuzzy, it was another done day. Never too tired for a cold beer and I sure deserved this one. Wednesday, the day four that wasn't supposed to be, and I'm up and out before the dawn. Home. The thought of not having to sit in that truck anymore propelled me onward. Sleeping in my own bed- please. Hugs and kisses- you betcha. Work- well it does pay the bills. I don't recall most of this last leg of the trip, it was just something to get done. Small party at the New York state line. 2:30 pm and I rolled up to my office. The trip was over.
Well you should have stopped in MPLS to see your B-I-L and his lovely wife. I mean, com'on how often do you get to see my crooked smile and a Keith look alike? NEVER. Maybe next summer a FLIGHT to Mpls might be in order. Or hey, maybe I'll see if I can get Mr.T up off his butt for a trip east. I'd love to see you two. Good luck with the plane, John, it appears by the photos to be a pretty daunting task. BUT ... I'm sure you're up for the task and it will be worth all the work when you're finished. Oh, how are the NEW GRANDPARENTS holding out so far? Wait until you hear that little girl say "Grandpa" the first time. You'll look over your shoulder to see who she is talking to, only it will be YOU. Quite a shock to be called Grandma, Grandpa the first time. Trust me on that one. Still, nothing is more precious than a grandkid --- a grand kid that you don't have to feed, raise, send to college, marry off.... just a child for you to LOVE and enjoy. Something to be said for that!!
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