Top Ten Reflections on a 2,000 mile road trip

1. Amazingly, my trip of 2,053 miles across eight southern states in the month of June 2009 was without ONE drop of rain. Not even a threatening cloud! Bluebird skies with a few clouds, and some wind in Texas. Wow.

2. Most amazing road sign – seen on US 287 between Amarillo and Ft. Worth: “Hitchhikers on this highway may be escaped convicts.” Yep. That one gave me pause.

3. Though I know there are a lot of duplicate town names across our country, I was a little surprised to see Las Vegas, NM, just outside of Tucumcari, NM near I-40. Go figure.

4. I was prepared for the worst, but gas prices ranged from $2.41(AL) to $2.99 (AZ). For a long trip in the current economy, that’s not too bad. Also noted that diesel prices were consistenly about 10 cents BELOW regular gas. LOL

5. I love Hampton Inns. The one in Shreveport greeted me with free Beer, Wine & Snacks Happy Hour. Yeah, that hit the spot. And, they have the BEST beds, hands down.

6. I do NOT like seeing my Caddy grill & windshield covered with assorted colors of bug guts and parts. Gross. Four years in bug-free Las Vegas has dulled my memories of that aspect of eastern/southern living.

7. All these miles and not a single TOLL was paid. Five years in the northeast where tolls are the norm – the expensive norm – made that kind of nice – and notable.

8. To further the stereotype of the south: I stopped at a DQ (Dairy Queen) outside of Dallas, Texas. The cashier who took my order was Terri Jean. The teenager who prepared the order was Bobbi Jo. The senior citizen lady who delivered it to me – I kid you not, I saw the name tags – was Billie Jean. I was, for sure, in the south. Billie Jean told me to “have a nice day, honey.”

9. Scariest moment on a four-lane highway at 75 mph (posted speed limit): on I-40 in New Mexico, I watched a medium sized RV slowly drift from the right lane into my left lane then onto the left shoulder where the “ridging” got the driver’s attention. The RV then swerved back across from left lane, to right lane, to right shoulder very close to the dirt edge. Once again over correcting, the RV tilted left, then started back across the right lane and into the left, before finally gaining control. All this in just a few seconds. Yowzer.

10. Strangest moment on a four-lane highway at 70 mph (posted speed limit): on US 287 between Amarillo and Ft. Worth, TX, I watched a small, fast, yellow airplane streak at ground level from my far right to my far left, literally missing the top of the pick-up truck about 30 yards in front of me. Yeah – I ducked. I was very sure that plane was going to hit that truck. The plane continued on, buzzing a large herd of beef on the hoof. Texans. What can I say.

(Dis)Honorable Mention: A big thumbs down to Verizon for refusing GPS use to third-party software provider “My Mileage Genie” for Blackberry. Apparently other providers allow it. Thanks, America’s largest network, for restricting my access to apps while I pay for the maximum service plan.

The TripTik known as my life

I’ve been driving along on this TripTik known as my life, enjoying the scenery, keeping an eye on the signs, watching the mileage continue to build up, and as sure as Obama likes ketchup, and only ketchup, on his hamburger, I’ve come to yet an intersection. Like any safe driver, I’ve looked both right and left, and checked out the road ahead.

I’ve decided to take a right turn.

So, first thing tomorrow morning, (6/15) I will be on the road, driving 2,610 miles from Vegas to Islamorada, Florida. Self-proclaimed “Fishing Capital of the World,” Islamorada is where one of my brothers has realized a 20 year dream thanks to the state of the real estate market: he’s in the process of closing on a vacation house in the Keys, with a canal as the backyard and his boat tied up to his dock, right next to his personal tiki bar, and just minutes from the Gulf Stream and that fabulous fishing. It’s about the mid-point island of the 1,700 island “keys,” halfway between Miami and eclectic Key West.

You see, the house needs some tender-loving renovation so I will stay there to help supervise that work while my bro focuses on his job which includes frequent travel. It will be a glorious time in the land of flip-flops and fish, humidity and Rum Runners with Gran Marnier floaters, mosquitoes and slow-living, 95%-higher-than-the-average-US-cost-of-living and spectacular sunsets.

The only danger, if it is indeed a danger, is to become afflicted with the untreatable malady known as Keys Disease. If one contracts Keys Disease, one does not return from whence one came, becoming permanently entrenched in the Keys life. My doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic for “just in case” but it will be useless according to testimony from any Keys resident with origins from elsewhere.

My current plan is to stay a few months, at least through the best of the fishing season, unless the renters in my Vegas condo decide to stay longer. Having the mortgage paid is a nice incentive to let them enjoy Vegas as long as they want. J

Meanwhile, the new motto is “tight lines.”