Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Yesterday was Day 4 of my 2,400-mile trip from Phoenix to Columbia, Maryland. Woke up in Nashville. I had 1,733 miles behind me. Got on the road about 9:30 a.m., hit I-40 and sailed along at 70+ mph. It's pretty easy to navigate when you're on the same highway from Arizona to Virginia. It's the updated Route 66, kind of a romantic idea, but I'm glad to travel on the high-speed highway these days.

First thing I noticed were the pastel purple trees interspersed among the green trees along the highway. I kept looking to see if they were purple leaves on green trees or separate purple trees. I had to take pictures so I actually pulled over onto the side of the road, rolled down my window and took some. A huge dump truck nearly sideswiped me -- he was frighteningly close to me on the shoulder. That got my heart going! No problem staying awake after that!

I kept seeing the purple trees all the way into Virginia. I wonder why I've never seen them before.

At first I thought the purple trees must be indigenous to Tennessee but clearly that's not the case. It reminded me of when a pen pal came to visit me from Australia when I was in college. She was talking about how awful the men were where she lived and how one made her...ah...um...go down on him when he had crabs. What are crabs, I asked? She told me. For years, I thought crabs were something only found in Australia.

I ended up driving 500 miles yesterday. I passed the exit for Bristol, home of the Bristol speedway, site of a NASCAR race coming up in August. That was just before I crossed over the Virginia border. I know that in Virginia you have to have hands-free cell phone devices. My brand new Plantronics 975 bluetooth is very uncomfortable in my ear, even though its sound quality is far better than my more comfortable (but old: 2008) Jawbone, whose earpieces I kept breaking. The Plantronics has a wonderful little case that extends the battery life and protects it, which is perfect for me. I just wish it were more comfortable. I've tried all three sizes of ear pieces. All hurt. But I don't like tickets so I kept it in.

I also stayed within 4 miles of the speed limit most of the time. Sometimes, however, I got annoyed by some car or SUV that was too close for comfort and I'd roar away until they were a safe distance behind me and then calm down again.

Lunch was an Arby's on the run, which was costly because I dribbled Arby's Sauce on my prized Denver Broncos sweatshirt, and I can't get the grease spot out. I'll keep trying.

I was determined to stop before dark but still get as far as I could so my last day through D.C. traffic wouldn't be too long. After an inexplicable delay for nearly half an hour while they cleaned up some accident or spill or something, I pulled off into Staunton, Virginia, near the Shenandoah Valley.

I hit yet another Hampton Inn, this one with the tiniest toilet on earth that they passed off as for adults. My knees started killing me after the second day on the road, presumably because they disliked being in the same position for all those hours, so getting up and down from a position where my butt is lower than my knees is painful. (I should've taken a picture. Of the toilet, not of me on it. It really is teensy.) I asked for a handicapped room (you know what I mean), but it (apparently the only one they have) was already occupied, no doubt by someone else who'd gotten a glimpse of the miniature toilet. I'm going to write a letter to the Hampton Inn folks at headquarters. I just wrote a book, after all, where we (my co-author Mike Kephart and I) encouraged designers and builders to install comfort-height toilets, and here are little miniature things in a hotel chain that caters more to business people than families. Ridiculous!

I watched Kate Gosselin get voted off of "Dancing with the Stars" and then set out for a local food place. I was too late for everything except Applebee's and Chili's. Chains you can find everywhere. So much for local flavor.

Before I went to bed, I threw the little soap, shampoo, lotion, shoe mitt and shower cap into my bag to send to the troops in Afghanistan. In my five months away from home, I've collected probably 200 of those items from my various hotel stays for business and personal purposes. I would bring my own soap, shampoo and lotion and dump each day's take into my bag. In every case, the hotels replaced every one when I stayed more than one night. Thank you, hotels, for contributing to the comfort of our military personnel overseas!

After a good night's sleep (for a change), I set out this morning for my last 175 miles. It was rainy and drizzly nearly the whole way, which was minimally inconvenient until I got to I-66 not far from D.C. Despite taking my car off of cruise control, I started hydroplaning, which was pretty scary. It only happened half a dozen times for a second or two each time, and then that was it.

The I-495 Washington, D.C., beltway was running well, and I was doing great until I took the Route 29 exit about 15 miles away from home. HUGE delay. We just sat there for 25 minutes. Finally the emergency vehicles from whatever had happened let us through and I made it home mid-afternoon.

I'd gone 2,409 miles total. By myself. First time ever. It was easier and more fun than I'd anticipated, but I don't think I'd want to do it again. At least not for awhile.

My own place, my own bed, my friends, my DVR, my stuff...ah, it's so good to be home! And, it's such a gift to have my view back of those gorgeous, majestic green trees outside all of my windows. The leaves hadn't come out the last time I was home, about 3 weeks ago.

So I'm sticking around home for awhile. Well, except for going to Atlanta in two weeks to speak about social media at the Society of American Military Engineers annual conference. And then going to Denver to work with my co-author, Mike, on the next steps for getting the word out on our book, and maybe another little project....

Thanks for going on this journey with me via this blog!

Damage and Delight

Trying to find someone to diagnose a problem with a car on a Sunday is like it used to be to try to find a doctor when you were sick on a Sunday, until they came up with urgent care centers. Someone should develop an urgent care center for vehicles. I could have used one yesterday.

I knew something wasn't quite right with my car thanks to the ruts and potholes on I-40 going through Texas and the rough, uneven pavement in a construction zone on I-40 a little west of Oklahoma City. I didn't know what was wrong and didn't know where to go to find out on a Sunday. The car seemed basically okay, so I continued on my journey.

Yesterday morning I woke up in Oklahoma City. Gotta love OKC -- it's the only city where the hotel had the SPEED Channel. So I happily watched a couple of interviews with the drivers before the NASCAR Sprint Cup race (which, as it turned out, was rain-delayed until today).

Oklahoma gave me steady drizzle and light rain until mid-afternoon. One visual highlight was the roadside sign that said, "Checotah - Home of Carrie Underwood." And the sign that said that if you took that exit, you could visit a Civil War site. Huh? I'd never thought of Oklahoma as a Civil War state. But what do I know? Much of I-40, despite the gray skies, was quite pretty with the lush grass and carpet of trees lining the sides of the highway. (Pic here -- the speckles are raindrops on my windshield.)

I rolled into Arkansas mid-afternoon yesterday. It was still drizzling through most of the afternoon. I was sailing along in light traffic entertained by k.d. lang belting out the beautiful "Hallelujah," which she sang at the Vancouver Olympics. Great song. I played other songs too, of course, but I did repeat that one several times. I was tempted to stop at the Pig Out Palace for BBQ because the sign was so hilarious, but I drove on. Got to Little Rock -- 350 miles from Oklahoma City -- at 5:15. I thought I could make it another 135 miles to Memphis so I soldiered on.

Part of the game while driving cross-country has been to see if I could get the cheapest gas along the way. "Cheap" has varied from $2.64/gal. to $2.84/gal. I learned over the miles that the places that flashed their prices on huge LED signs facing the highway usually had the cheapest gas. I felt so highway-savvy whenever I'd win the game by, in fact, buying what turned out to be the lowest-priced gas in the area.

Passing the Shiloh battlefield was emotional. With the lone cannon in site and the vast, empty, rolling-hilled field all calm and grassy now, I could almost see and feel the young soldiers, the violence of face-to-face combat, and the fear and bravery of them all.

Sure enough, I did make it to Memphis before dark. When I crossed the famous Mississippi River, I felt that somehow the occasion was momentous. What tales it could tell....

As I approached Memphis, the pyramid-shaped structure on my left caught my eye. What the heck is it? (Pic here) Very cool, whatever it is.

I wove my way through the city so I'd be past the rush-hour traffic when I left for Nashville in the morning. I found a Hampton Inn, charmed my way into an upgrade, and sought a local restaurant for dinner. Coletta's, which I'd found when I got lost on the way to the hotel, was the place. Good spaghetti and meatballs, Italian music from the 1950s, and, best of all, I was seated next to an electrical outlet so was able to plug in my laptop and log on to Facebook. I have enough loquacious friends there now that it takes me nearly an hour to catch up with everybody.

The "damage" and "delight" occurred today. First, the damage: I motored the 200 miles from Memphis to Nashville. I took my car to Crown Ford, and Randy there was nice enough to take my car in for a look-see. Sure enough, the undershield, which protects the underside of the car from whatever water, mud, rocks, etc., are thrown up onto it and cuts down the noise, was damaged beyond saving. They just took it off, so I'll have to have it replaced when I get back home.

Next, the delight: My friend Michele, whom I haven't seen since she helped me move three years ago this week, drove to Nashville from Louisville, Kentucky, and we have spent the day and evening together. So good it is to reunite with a good friend. We're such good friends that it seems like we got together last week, not three years ago. A colleague once said he was such good friends with so-and-so that they didn't need to see each other. I guess that's the way it is with Michele and me.

We had lunch in downtown Nashville at Big River Grille & Brewing Works -- excellent burger, mediocre coleslaw -- and roamed around downtown a bit. Caught a quick pic out of the car window of the Country Music Hall of Fame (here) and wonder what the radio-tower-looking structure is (bad picture below). (Be kind -- I was in a moving car, folks, and it wasn't mine so I wasn't driving!) We had an excellent, reasonably priced dinner at a little place recommended by the proprietor of our Hampton Inn (4th night in a row in one), Jose's in Old Hickory. I love local, hole-in-the-wall places and always seek them out.

Now I'm only about 675 miles from home. I'm not going to drive it all tomorrow, I don't think. It's beautiful country, I'm told, and friends suggest that I take my time and be a tourist. When else am I going to drive this way? This will probably be the only time. However, you never know!

Breaking Records and Maybe Something Else

Yesterday was awesome! Well, up until the stressful ending....

I started out the day in Gallup, New Mexico. Ate my Dannon coffee yogurt and hit the road. My goal was to get to Amarillo, Texas, about 425 miles away. It would be the most miles I'd ever driven in one day. Could I stay awake that long?

New Mexico is a geologist's wet dream. The gigantic striated rock all along the north side of I-40 is spectacular. Good thing there wasn't much traffic because I was gawking like a tourist. Oh, I forgot: I am one!

I stopped for a foot-long Subway sandwich in Edgewood, New Mexico, a ways east of Albuquerque. On my way back to the highway, a parade of more than a dozen vintage Ford Thunderbirds and other Fords slowly pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. I don't know if they were on their way somewhere and stopped for lunch or what, but it was very cool and I just had to turn around and get pictures. One's posted here.

Crossing over the Texas state line was exciting. In a good way. The potholes -- too numerous to count -- were also exciting. Not in a good way. Please don't damage my car, I kept praying.

I saw cattle grazing in pastures on both sides of the road. They looked happy if body language is any clue. Then I saw a sign identifying a beef production company. There were pens and pens of cows standing or their version of sitting but not on grass. They were on dark dirt, with nothing to graze on. I felt bad for them. But not so bad that I'm giving up eating beef.

On to Amarillo. I'd met my goal! And I'd stayed awake and alert all day! My CDs helped -- I swayed and sang along with (here goes....) Pink, The Lettermen (my very first record album back in the day, WAY back in the day...), Garth Brooks, The Moody Blues, and the soundtrack from Mamma Mia.

Amarillo along I-40 is filled with all of my old friends: Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Applebee's, Chili's, Burger King, ad infinitum. Wow, what city am I in? Could be any!

I wasn't tired when I got to Amarillo at about 6:30 p.m. so after a quick "rest stop" at McDonald's, I and my small vanilla shake (McDonald's has the best shakes!) got back on the road. Amarillo to Oklahoma City is another 250-ish miles. Could I make it? Well, at least I'd try. I still had the second half of my Subway sandwich, so when I got hungry about 100 miles later, I ate that as I drove. Still going....

I crossed over the Oklahoma state line about 9:15 p.m. Still going....

It was raining for much of the way to Oklahoma City, and it was dark so it was hard to see. I did fine until about 20 miles away from the city limits when construction signs appeared. Most of the numerous times I've run into construction signs on this trip, no activity was going on, and disruption was minimal, usually involving going from two lanes to one for less than a mile. This time, however, the lanes were all switched around and the pavement was uneven. It was so dark with the rain and no painted lines that I had no idea where the road was. An 18-wheeler came barreling along, elbowed his way ahead of me and tore off down the road. I figured following his tail lights was better than chancing veering off the road by myself, so I sped up and followed him. I was bouncing along like a drunk on an obstacle course. When I saw a billboard for a Hampton Inn on Garth Brooks Boulevard, I went for it.

My car was making some bad sounds after I got off the highway and it felt not right somehow. I have a hard time describing it but I know that car like I know my body and I know something was loose or low or missing or something. I couldn't see any damage and my tires seemed okay, and it was still raining, so I just checked in to the hotel and called it a night. I ended my day after driving 660 miles, breaking my own previous record of about 300 miles. But did I break something else? We'll see.

Driving and Dozing

My challenge whenever I drive long distances -- for me, that's anything over two hours -- is staying awake. I think it came from going on vacations with my parents when I was young, lying in the back seat (which I could do since I had no siblings), watching the power lines waving up and down as we passed them high on the poles, and listening to the soothing sounds of my mom and dad companionably chatting in the front seat. I dozed, feeling secure and happy. Unfortunately, I still tend to doze when I drive, though I have broken the habit of lying in the back seat.

Yesterday I got on the road after just three hours of sleep after spending nearly 21 hours at my (deceased) mom's house finishing up cleaning it out, packing what I needed for my trip and loading it into my car, packing the rest of what I will have shipped to me, and getting things cleaned out so the estate sale can happen this weekend. (No, I won't be there for that. Too emotional of an experience.) I got so little sleep because I was overtired, not because I didn't take the time to sleep.

I did pretty well staying awake most of the day. I had my CDs to sing along with (which I'll only do alone, as a public service). I had a nice semi-sunny, partly-cloudy day to drive by. I had no bad traffic to contend with. And I was excited to begin this adventure.

But twice for half an hour or so each, I found myself several times jerking out of an alpha state I'd sunk into. The problem is that I am only aware of being in the alpha state when I snap out of it. Scary stuff! I think I'm okay and boom! I come out of another one.

I have various methods of coping with that, and I will try them the INSTANT I feel sluggish today. I have more than 80% of my drive ahead of me and I am committed to being awake and alert through it all. It'll keep me and everyone else around me alive.

So...I only drove 300 miles yesterday, so I'm only 350 miles into my trip. Pics here are 1) near Flagstaff, Arizona, where the snow atop the peaks made for a stunning view, and 2) on Navajo land, not the most dramatic scene, but the only one I could (semi-safely) take from my car. (I pulled over to the side of the road to take the one near Flagstaff.)

I stopped just as it was nearing sunset in Gallup, New Mexico. I'd been shooting for Albuquerque but the extra 150-ish miles just weren't doable under conditions of three hours of sleep.

I'm glad I did. I stayed in a lovely, fairly new Hampton Inn, and the desk folks recommended El Sombrero for dinner based on my criteria: no gringo food, no national chains. I had huevos rancheros with green chili and was in heaven!

After -- finally -- a good night's sleep, I'm off again this morning. Right now! I was committed to leaving at 9:00 a.m., and it's that now. I'm looking forward to a full day of driving and staying bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! Wish me luck! I'll check in tomorrow.

Inauspicious Beginning

Yesterday I had hoped to leave on my journey across country by noon. I finally made it out of the driveway of my mom's house at nearly 3:30 a.m. Whew!

After 5-1/2 months of intermittently working on my mom's house, contents, estate, etc., making Phoenix my base, I only had a few things to wrap up, pack for movers and then put whatever I could fit into my car to take on my 2,400-mile trip from Phoenix to Columbia, Maryland. Simple. Sure.

I got to her house early -- 6:30 a.m. -- and figured I'd be out of there by 10:00 a.m. if I was lucky, probably more likely noon. I kept running into papers, pictures, treasures of all kinds that I didn't know were there and had to go through one by one. Plus, I'd accumulated a lot of my own stuff, especially paper (bane of my existence, particularly in the electronic age), over 5-1/2 months! Aaargh!

About 11:00 p.m. I didn't think I could go on, but I kept going. Bleary-eyed and nearly staggering, I finally got everything wrapped up and shut the garage door at 3:21 a.m.

By then, my goal was simply to make it from south of Phoenix, where my mom lived, in Ahwatukee, north through Phoenix so I didn't have to deal with rush-hour traffic in the morning. I traveled -- carefully! -- 50 miles to a Hampton Inn at Anthem. Good choice. New, nice, clean, safe. And, best of all, it had a refrigerator!

After just a few hours of sleep and taking care of some business chores, I'm about to head out again. Hoping to make Albuquerque tonight. On not much sleep and a bit of a sore body from all of the exertion yesterday, my challenge will be to stay awake. Wish me luck! I'll check in here again tomorrow morning.