Well kids….if you ever want to talk yourself out of buying something for yourself or your home….just pack up what your already own. If that doesn’t do it, give me a call and we’ll have a long chat.
If you’ve moved lately…and had to pack up your home as a deadline approaches, then you already know what I’m talking about. The stress levels go up, as your energy levels rapidly go down. Not a great combination. We had been packing up the house for about a month and feeling pretty good about our progress. Almost smug in fact…”we’ve got this”. And then with one day to go before the movers show up, you look around and realize that the old adage of “90% done, 90% to go” is actually very true. It’s amazing how long it takes to do the final, “the house is finally empty” packing. In our case, it took another day and a half. We rolled out of town at noon yesterday running way behind schedule. Status quo. Geez…you’d think after doing this three times in the past two years (amazing), we’d be getting better at this! I guess we’re slow learners.
Last night we arrived in El Paso bone-tired, but happy that….once again….we were on the road for another adventure. There’s a certain freedom in that…by that I mean setting a goal and completing it. Our goals for the last couple years have been to see the Western US, have fun and find a great place to live. We’ve accomplished two of those and we’re working on the third. We’ve found that setting goals is easy….making them happen is a lot harder.
Nike’s slogan is “Just do It”. Sounds reasonable. Well, when you’re out on the road doing 450-550 miles a day driving a big diesel rig….it’s not so easy. There are three things that we constantly battle on the road: Finding a gas station where i can pull in and pull out without having to turn around, finding rest areas where we can get out and stretch and let Tuck out to pee and finding decent food. Many years ago, we figured out that taking picnic food was the way to go. We no longer stop anywhere to eat, other than the breakfasts provided at the motels where we stay. We take sliced turkey for protein and vats of Claudia’s great pimento cheese and egg salad for carbs to keep us going. Pretzels and lots of crackers round out the stash. We have gone for days on nothing more. When you’re in the middle of nowhere in Texas (where we are now), having fresh food and a bottle of wine is heaven.
Right now, we’re in Junction, Texas. Two long days behind us and three more to go. We’re averaging about 450 miles a day, which actually isn’t bad considering I can’t drive over 65 MPH with the Penske truck. We stop about every two hours to let Tuck out and stretch our legs. Tuck is amazing….the sweetest dog ever. Early in the morning, he wags his tail and jumps up the ramp into the truck and his backseat bed. He never makes a peep…just patiently rides back there all curled up and goes to sleep. And he does this day after day after day. What a dog. Everywhere we go, strangers come up to us and ask to pat him. He’s just got that quality about him. We love him a lot and it shows.
Well, that’s about it for now. I’m headed up to the breakfast room at the Best Western where we’re staying for a quick bite before we head out for the day. Our destination tonight is Lake Charles, Louisiana. I spent many weekends there when I was in the Army (Ft. Polk). I remember it as being a fun, laid-back town….but of course anywhere was better than an Army base during the Vietnam days!
Thanks for reading!
Wayne, Claudia and Tuck