Time spent in the car: 10 hours
Distance covered:
States driven in: 3
Time zones driven through: 3
Tickets accumulated: 0 (although I did get a written warning - story below)
Hours of sleep upon arrival: 4.5
Now for the slightly longer version (don't worry, there will be a picture if you get bored)...
After much planning and packing, I took off for greener (figuratively and literally) pastures. The first leg (of the many legged creature that is my summer vacation - perhaps it's more like an octopus than a legged creature...but that's neither here nor there) took me to Lubbock, TX.
The drive started out well enough - everything was packed nicely in my car, Grrtrude had not one, but two(!) sleeping areas, and I had just popped my new driving mix into the CD player. The mix, while wonderful, only opened the floodgates (damn you, Elton John!) - and I hadn't even gotten out of town! I probably looked a hot mess driving through Tucson sobbing and making ugly cry faces, but I have always believed that sometimes you just need a good cry, and that first half an hour of my drive was evidence of that.
While there wasn't much to speak of on the drive, there were a few interesting points of interest. First off, this needs to be stated for the record: New Mexico, although it claims to be the Land of Enchantment, is a big fat liar. There is nothing enchanting about that land. Well, that is a bit dramatic. I did enjoy driving through the Lincoln National Forest, home of the cute town of Cloudcroft, and that was pretty nice. But other than that, I saw a truck almost get run off the highway by a big trailer that didn't see the vehicle when it attempted to switch lanes and that was about it.
Oh, and I got a written warning from a member of the Artesia Police Department. So there is that. Here is how this all happened...
Earlier in the week, I was speaking with so co-workers (one of whom is from Alamagordo, NM) about the silly speck on the map that Artesia, NM is. Well, turns out my reality has a great sense of humor...and by great I mean ironic and slightly acerbic.
So at around 10:00p local time I stopped to re-wrap my tattoo and get some gas. While I was pumping gas, another vehicle pulled in for gas, and after I jumped back into my car, one of the guys from the other vehicle came up to my window asking if I had change; they had apparently gone over on pumping gas by $.33. Now, while I want to help folks, I get really nervous at night when I am alone and in an unusual place. So I said no, I don't - sorry. I had flashes of me turning to rummage for change and him breaking my window and, in turn, my face. No es bueno.
After that, I rolled out of the gas station and although I knew the way I needed to go, I wanted to quickly look ahead for my next turn. After a minute, I realized there were flashing red lights in my rearview, so I pulled over (right next to a generator for a fireworks tent - nice placement, Z). When the Officer, who for my own amusement I will name Officer Krupke, came to ask if I knew why I was stopped and I replied no, he told me I didn't have my headlights on.
D'oh!
Apparently I had rolled out of the gas station and started driving so quickly that I neglected to turn on my lights. I guess the light from the station made me think they were on...or something.
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| ut-oh spaghettio |
*The title of this blog was the last piece of advice my dear friend Kevin shared with me after we parted ways in Tucson, so this is just a little tribute to him. I certainly plan to follow said advice also. But more on that in future posts, I am sure.
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