It's Like We Know What We Are Doing

"Those clouds are mocking us" - We left Memphis and it was in the 70's. I know it's going to snow in Chicago when we get home. The clouds followed us most of the trip. I'm pretty sure I saw one in the shape of a middle finger... 5 Days, 6 States, 2 Travelers and 1474 Miles!! Day 5 - Homeward Bound... It's late (for me, at this point) on Wednesday night. We made it home a few hours ago. Thankfully we made it home in one piece, with no tickets (parking or speeding...thank god no speeding ticket!!) and no murder (though there were a few moments where it could have happened...). We left around 7a and there really isn't much to report after a 9 hour drive. But I did want to make sure to record my final thoughts... I'm pretty sure I've said this before (things are a little hazy at this point), but overall, Elias was a great travel buddy. We ran into some times where we ran into some miscommunication (what part of "do you have change?...

"You can tell I'm getting worn out. I can't figure out directions." We're nearing the end of the trip. There's still a 9 hour drive home tomorrow. And I think it'll be fine. It will be fine. But the biggest difference between this trip and the last road trip is the one driver/two driver deal. One driver = hard times for the driver. Two drivers = better times. Not that it's bad. Really. There hasn't been anything bad with this trip. But being the only driver ratchets the stress level up slightly. Though I still believe there's nothing a smart phone and Nigel the GPS can't find. It's completely changed the way we travel. Day 4 - Graceland. It's just a house. The Holiday Inn has no breakfast. That's the downside. The upside is that the Starbucks is very close. So we had a Starbucks breakfast. And really, this wasn't bad because we ate our BBQ really late last night. I really wasn't hungry in the ...

"Your seats are down there...second row on the left." - the usher at the Grizzlies game. And boy were they ever!! Day 3 - Memphis Bound!! We slept really well again last night. Apparently road tripping wears you out. We knew there was a 3 1/2 hour drive again today, so we had to get up earlier than the day before. Luckily, after we packed the car and had another good (free) breakfast, we were on the road. We did have to find a Starbucks first (Road Trip Rule #1), but once we did...it was time to go to Memphis!! Our first stop in Memphis was Huey's for burgers. We were meeting my old co-worker and current rep, Nicole. The only problem...we were at one Huey's and she was at the other. Whoops!! It was easier for her to find us than the other way around, so we waited a little bit for her. The food at Huey's was delicious!! I was a little wary to begin with because I wasn't really jazzed about a burger place. But man oh man, I'm glad it was th...

"Nature and I don't do so well together" or "Of course you know this song, it's old" - Elias We keep playing a game. Changing between the two Pop/Urban CHR stations in the market (that's radio lingo, folks), Elias asks if I know who is singing. 99% of the time I don't. I know a few names (Katy Perry and Ce-Lo), but mostly the game consists of him laughing at me. Possibly because I can't pronounce Ke$ha's name (though I know there's a dollar sign in her name...and that she's going to have rotten teeth when she grows up). So in reality, the game is all about me feeling old and not "with it" and him rolling his eyes at his crazy aunt. Oh, how times have changed... Day 2 - Nashville, TN We fell asleep so fast last night that it was almost like we were tranquilized by a federal agent who thought we were aliens. Normally, the first hotel night is one that involves plenty of tossing and turning and very little sleep. ...

"Yes, be quiet for a few minutes. I don't trust where Nigel* is sending us, it's dark and the music is just too loud." *Nigel is the GPS. But that was the end of the day. Let me rewind to the beginning... Day 1 - Driving to Nashville What I didn't account for was the exhaustion before the trip. I might be able to blame the time change. This week has been really hard. Not due to work (lord no!! This has been one of the few weeks in the year where we've seen a lull). But physically and mentally. I've been consistently tired all week long. It tends to be 11p before I fall asleep. And when I have to be out of bed by 527a (a minute later and I'm racing hard in the morning), 11p is not great. So I start off the day a little "off." It's hard for me to get into the swing of the day when I'm already feeling "off." I've been like this all week. And this does not bode well for the trip. Or at least the drive...

I need to put gas in my car. Though I probably I should plot the drive first. Then gas can go in the car. Well, there is the packing part. But first I have to do laundry. What about snacks for the road?? When am I going to do laundry?? We're going to leave early on Saturday. How am I going to get the cooler?? What time should we hit the road?? What about the ice for the cooler?? I think Tennessee is on Central Time. What's the weather supposed to be?? I wonder if we'll be able to see The Amazing Race on Sunday. What the hell happened to my Road Atlas?? This is the running commentary going through my head right now. I'm a mess. The last road trip I went on went off without a hitch. Same with the one before that. But this one is a little different. A little different because I'm completely "in charge." It's not like I'm making all of the decisions or anything. Elias has a say in where we're going to go and eat (well, not n...

I didn't expect the day to take the twists and turns that it did. But there I was, quietly "working" away. And by "working" I was killing time before my breakfast meeting that was cancelled due to my hungover rep (well, it is Wine Week. *shudder*). Little did I know how the morning was going to change. #1 - 10a I checked my e-mail this morning and found an e-mail from Spirit Airlines. A flight was changed for our South American trip. No biggie. A changed flight. A few minutes here. A few minutes there. It's all good. Then I checked the change. Our flight didn't just change by a minute or two. Or an hour or two. Nope. Our flight changed by two days. TWO DAYS!! Unfortunately, our flight leaving two days early isn't suave, cause we'll be leaving Easter Island that day. It's not going to be physically possible to get from Easter Island to Lima in time (check a map...these places are far away from each other). After two con...