Travelogue - Night 2

10:00am, MST, depart Residence Inn, El Paso, TX
9:00pm, CST, arrive Residence Inn, Lewisville, TX

Okay, to catch up on activities since yesterday morning:

I woke up about 5:00am on Friday. Forced myself out of bed around 5:30 and quickly showered and dressed, then ran to Safeway to get a travel litter box for the car.

Back home, stripped the bed, ran a load or two of laundry, kept packing things I want with me for the next ten days. A few minutes after 8:00, the packers arrived. Around 9:00 the two guys who were contracted to construct a crate for "The King and The Queen of the Prom" arrived and set to work. Around 9:30, my new best friend, Phil, arrived. Phil has the job to deliver my piano (and all other possessions) safely to Youngstown.

I've decided I have Attention Deficit Disorder. That could explain why I vacuum a room and then forget where I left the vacuum, right? Oh, or stress. I guess stress could also explain that.

The art craters finished around noon. My contact at Horizon had mis-measured "The King and The Queen" and so the cost that had been communicated to me was incorrect. It was going to cost about $300 more to crate it than I had been told. The poor guy who had to communicate this to me was quaking in his boots. I imagine he was sure I was going to explode when he told me of the added cost. Of course I didn't. I told him, "You've got to do what you've got to do. It's only money."

Phil and Frank and Jesus and I worked tirelessly all day. I got to the point where I was saying, "Just put it in a box. I don't care." I have possessions that I will never find until I buy a house again a year or so from now.

At around 3:45 we finished at the house. I gave Rudi a tranquilizer and loaded him into the car. We all drove in caravan to the storage unit at Prince and 1st. The guys were able to empty the storage unit and load everything into the moving van in less than half an hour. I had remembered to bring the valuations of my clocks, chandeliers and piano that were done before my move to Tucson in 1999. I made copies of those pages, crossed the items that Phil didn't have on the truck, gave those pages to Phil and signed my name about 25 times, and we were done. Phil drove west on Prince to head for Phoenix and a load that's got to be delivered to Cleveland, and I headed east to catch up with Maureen at Le Buzz for a last quick goodbye. I turned from Houghton onto I-10 at 6:00 p.m.

An hour later I realized I had forgotten to run by Rio Café to say good-bye to Richard and Eduardo.

An hour or so into the trip, I called ahead and made a reservation at the Residence Inn El Paso. About half an hour before arriving there, I was falling asleep and had to stop at a rest stop to walk around and wake up. I don't enjoy driving at night, and was really proud of myself that I made it all the way to El Paso, making today's arrival in Dallas doable.

This morning I left El Paso at 10:00. After several hours I was falling asleep, and pulled into a "picnic area", where I actually napped for a little while. That's the first time in my life I've napped like that along the road.

I want to tell you that Texas is long. I-20 is a very long road, miles and miles of miles and miles. I saw tumbleweed rolling across the highway. I drove through flurries of red dust where visibility was extremely limited. I saw rest stops along I-20 in the middle of nowhere with "Wireless Internet" signs out front. I saw oil rigs pumping and pumping. I saw wind turbines spinning and spinning. I saw parts of the country I had only heard of before. But I'll tell you what I didn't see for tens and hundreds of miles: no fast food restaurants. Those west Texans must all pack their lunches at home every morning. There was just nothing.

When I finally found a Wendy's sign, I ended up driving six miles out of my way to get my usual single-with-only-lettuce-and-tomato.

The worst part of today's drive was the final hour. I almost had a wreck next D/FW airport when the car in front of me stopped quickly. And there's been all sorts of construction at 121 and I-35E, so my GPS didn't know how to direct me to my hotel. I spent four years of my life in Fort Worth and Dallas, so kinda know my way around the area and was able to easily find my hotel. As I write, Rudi is sleeping on top of the refrigerator.

Trip anecdotes:

I keep two infant receiving blankets folded in quarters and stacked on my dresser as a bed for Rudi. I sent one of them to Jaci last week for her animals to get used to Rudi's smell. I intended to put the other one in his crate to keep him comfortable and acclimated. Alas, when I went to grab the blanket to put in the crate, it had been packed somewhere.

This morning I pulled my favorite jeans out of the suitcase. I had another pair of jeans that I decided to throw away earlier this week, as they don't fit me well. When I pulled the jeans out of the suitcase this morning, I realized I had packed the jeans I mean to throw away and thrown away the favorite jeans!

The Thursday packed packed all my bras and shoes, so I have only the bra and shoes I was wearing on Thursday. Good excuse to go shopping, dontcha think?

Had several in transit conversations with friends today, and again appreciated the technology that makes cell phones possible.

Rudi was the perfect companion today. Once I got his crate settled back in the car and was ready to go, I opened his crate door. He came out for a while and slept in my lap, then went back into the crate. So long as the crate door is open, he spends most of the day lounging in the crate. He's quiet, so long as he's not trapped by that door!

So many more stories, but my eyes are closing. More tomorrow.