Road Trip
The day began early, my phone ringing at 4:30 AM. It was Pat, letting me know that he'd be by in a half hour to begin our 12 hour sojourn a quarter of the way across the country, to what will be home for the next 9 months. I awoke, showered, and gathered the few bags and boxes by the door. I awoke my sisters and brother and bade them farewell. They were not particularly responsive, a fact that I took as a great affront. Pat arrived and parked the U-Haul in front of my house. We loaded it up, packing it to the brim, and we returned inside, so that my grandma could bless us with some holy water from the Knock Shrine in Ireland. And so, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, our grand adventure began.
After spending an outrageous amount on gas at a BP (the first of many BP stops on the trip) we hit up I-80 and headed east, getting on the road at 5:18 AM.
The beginning of the trip was through the rolling hills the make up the western part of Iowa. It was beautiful, the fog cascading down the gentle slopes and piling. Pat remaked that, were it possible, he would eat the fog. Illuminated, the fog was an absolutely gorgeous site, reminding me of the divine mandate our undertaking had recieved.
We had rigged up the car so that my laptop was able to hook into the stereo, giving us a plethora of music to choose from. Third Eye Blind's self-titled album was the first up. It was among the first CDs I ever purchased, and has always held a special place in my heart. It's also a fantastic album, and if you've never heard it, I suggest that you check it out.
So it's 6 AM, we're blazing across Iowa, when we realize that the passenger side mirror on the U-Haul is all screwed up. What it does, is when you are going interstate speed, the mirror will move, so it's totally useless. Now, this worried us, because for a long time, until we got cocky enough to change lanes without the mirror, it meant that both of us had to be awake. That really sucked.
The trip went by so quickly, for me, not so much for Pat, because he's a cranky old woman, but I had alot of fun, just chilling and watching the road blow by. Oh, and as a side note, never, ever eat at White Castle. It's horrible.
So, 12 hours on the road (13 with the time change), and Pat and I still came out not hating eachother. Hell, I'd do it again in a second. Now I'm in Pat's room, we got Pat all moved in, and I'm ready to embark on my first night in the Ghetto as a student at the University of Dayton. Sweet.
Aug 17, 2005 11:22 AM
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