doomy doom

I got called away by my gracious host.

I arrived there yesterday evening, earlier than I had thought I’d get there.  My GPS said I was 8 hours away around noon.  I missed my exit due to the engaging nature of my audio book.  The reroute took me a path that cut off three hours.  I don’t understand that in the slightest, but okay.  I’m pretty sure my GPS is set to the fastest route, so why it would have taken an extra three hours if I’d taken the original route didn’t make sense to me.

Kevin’s mom is a very nice lady.  I had to get used to her Southern hospitality; I’m not used to someone trying to make me feel welcome.  I got a little overwhelmed.  We settled in, watched some PBS nature shows (hummingbirds and monkeys!), and ate some of her delicious, home-cooked food.  On top of that greatness, all the pets decided I was awesome, so I got cuddles from their beagle puppy, Artemis, and the three cats, Kizzie, Zara, and Billy.

I had planned to leave the following evening, but she was worried about me driving at night and all the Southern weirdos.

“Have you seen Deliverance?!”

“No, but I’m familiar with the reference..”

“Those people really exist!”

I stayed until this morning.  She sent me on my way with some of the cornbread she’d made for dinner the night before.  It was so Tasty!

She ended up going to bed with a migraine, so her hubby and I stayed up talking about fishing, hunting, and trucks – and all the adventures in between.  It was a good night.

I got on the road around 7:30-8am and headed out into the humid doom.  It’s only gotten worse as I’ve gone east.

I’m sitting in a DQ in Louisiana at the moment.  I was going to stop at a gas station to relieve myself, but couldn’t pass up the chance for ice cream.  It’s not exactly hot outside, it’s just dang humid.

I’m almost done with my Blizzard and want to get back on the road.  Might get to see my Auntie Pam tonight!

I spoke too soon about the deer yesterday.  Shortly after leaving that place I started seeing them everywhere. Ogads.

My friend Kevin offered to ask his mom if I could stay over a night because she’s in the Austin area.  She agreed to meeting me, so I made my way up to her house.

I realized yesterday that I get so engrossed with my audio books that I forget to check the GPS to see my exit.

• Does Texas have badgers? I think I just saw one cross the road.. #
• @qworg ni #
• @qworg Nice! Good to kbow, thanks. #mushroommushroom #
• Mm, six hours of sleep. That feels nice. Woke in a valley of plateaued hills. #
• It's 90+ degrees outside. My air conditioning? A spray bottle. Yay evaporative cooling. #

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I just got tongued by a Jack Russell.  Cute.  Kinda gross.  A trucker stopped to let him, Max, out for a break.  Max made a beeline for me and jumped up in my lap and gave me kisses.  He also inspected my lunchbox looking to see if I had any food for him.  My delicious banana/zucchini/carrot bread was in hiding.  The trucker was nice, a guy from AZ making a delivery to San Antonio.  Apparently there’s a curfew for wide load truckers, so he can’t deliver it ’til after 9.  I think it’s probably so they take necessary breaks and don’t just ball it down the road.  Who knows.

The drive so far has been good, no problems.  My load is as secure as I could’ve asked for.  I rock.

The weather through AZ to here (west Texas) was abysmal during the day.  I saw it posted as 99F somewhere in a town I passed through.  It felt it.  I woke up sweating terribly yesterday.  I had sun shades up in all the windows to provide reflection and insulation, but haven’t yet put the silver tarp on top of the truck yet as another sun blocker.  If it’s really hot tonight when I stop I’ll consider it.  This morning was lovely.  The night even got cool enough that I grabbed my sweater and threw it over my arms.  I was the last one to wake at the picnic grounds (rest stop without bathrooms. ugh.), but I slept through all but the last two truckers heading out.  I was tuckered.  I woke today with a slight headache, like yesterday.  I think it’s a combination of slight dehydration from the night and not eating enough.  The heat makes eating a chore and when I’m driving all night I don’t think to stop and eat.  I want to use the night hours to my advantage – it’s cooler.

The one thing I remember about driving through Texas two years ago is the deer, lots of them, smattered all over the highways.  I haven’t seen that this time, but the huge buck I saw grazing on the side of the highway last night made me nervous.  It was 1:30AM.  Other interesting wildlife: I think I saw a badger run across the road!  Cute, little waddling thing.

I need to remember to get out of the truck and walk around a while before I go to sleep.  I’m sitting all day/night getting cramps in my legs/butt/neck.  Then I go to sleep curled up, unable to stretch out.  I woke up sometime last night with a cramp in my glutes.  I stretched my feet out the window to ease it.

Alright, time to get back on it.

• Red lights on the tops of these wind turbines look like dancing fairies in the night sky. #
• Apparently I get 4 mpg *more* with a full load. Explain that nonsense. Happily surprised. #
• Amerizona, eff yeah! #
• Speed Limit 75 mph. Oh. If only. #
• Ooh, the moon is a pretty, orange sliver. #
• The red in the sunrise is a gorgeous, lusty color. #
• Ugh. Sweat is pouring down my face. So hot. Amerizona, eff you. #
• In case you're curious where I am: http://t.co/z07tfFS7 #
• Okay, Texas, let's make this quick. #

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