01 April 2008

1565 miles from home

yeah, that's right, 700 miles today. i woke up in icey glenwood springs, colorado, unburied my car from the snow drift, and started heading down the icy slope toward denver. i am now just on the other side of omaha... i'm so tired i can't even remember all of the funnies i had to tell about my day. i can't even summon the energy to try to share my enthusiasm at being enough of a grown up to drive across the country by myself, to enjoy my own company enough to not be bored... sleep... i need sleep...

31 March 2008

865 miles from home

i'm back on the campaign trail, on a cross-country cruise to evansville, through chicago...

so today was the first real leg of my journey toward indiana (for the past coupla days, i've been hanging with my dad and evil step-mother, at mile marker 280). my goal was vegas to denver in a day (751 miles) and though i knew it’d be tough, i never doubted my ability to get it done. guess i should’ve taken a little thing called snow into consideration…

but before i get to the snow bit, it’s clear that the day was meant to be one for the books from the getgo…

i got my first speeding ticket this morning in utah, maybe 200 miles into my trip. look folks, it was bound to happen at some point. i have a heavy foot as is and when i’m completely mesmerized by the beauty of my country (who knew utah was such a knockout?) and its weird signs (seriously, these are two of the signs along the highway, "drowsy driving causes crashes" and "eagles on highway". hmmmm...), i’m not going to notice i’m speeding in the neighborhood of (i’d rather not say, actually) until i catch the flashing lights in my rearview mirror (and to be fair, the officer tricked me by driving a sporty car).

when the officer walked up to my window, i was shaking. i wasn’t doing anything wrong other than speeding (not really, anyway), but cops just scare the crap out of me. so there i was, shaking, fumbling through my little glove box book trying to find my registration and proof of insurance, fumbling through my wallet for my driver’s license, looking like a fool (though, admittedly, a really cute fool). i handed over my license and reg, but found a whole of expired but no current version of my insurance. he was fine with just my license and reg and went back to his car. while he was calling me in and writing my ticket, i was on the phone asking ameriprise to pretty please email me a copy of my proof of auto insurance, just in case there’s a next time. though there won’t likely be another as my cruise control and i have since become good friends ;)

so, you think it’s bad enough getting a speeding ticket a few miles into the trip, get this. the officer pointed out, when returning my reg and license, that my registration had expired in january of this year. not only was the registration form expired, but the tag on my license plate is also expired. what!? seriously? lemme just start out with the two biggest reasons this shocks me to no end: (1) i don’t drop balls, i don’t forget to pay bills, my checkbook register is within a dollar of my balance at the bank. my organizational skills are one of my more worthy bragging points and though i’ve been a bit out of my mind of late, i’m still the girl who’s got it together. i just cannot believe i didn’t renew my tags. and even if i did forget to renew, (2) how in the hell did i drive around, park on the street, and maneuver through los angeles for two months with expired tags? how?

fortunately for me, i didn’t get pulled over in california. or my ass would have been towed. instead, i got off with an 85 in a 75 ticket (and i didn’t even ask where he really clocked me), a warning to “please slow down while you’re in my state.” and a suggestion that i call the dmv to resolve the issue of my expired tags.

well, hells yeah! i did call the dmv. and it’s closed for cesar chavez day…

and i didn’t make it to denver…

because it’s snowing. there are several accidents up the road (including a 40-car pile-up) and interstate 70 is closed in both directions. so i'm hanging out in glenwood springs, colorado (about 150 miles west of denver). it’s super cute and i found an adorable little hotel with the right kind of price tag, a bar downstairs, and free wireless in my room. i honestly couldn’t be happier. besides, how can i be upset about being 865 miles into my trip with two full days left to drive? and it’s snowing here and it’s beautiful and charming and peaceful.

tomorrow i drive 690-ish miles to omaha, nebraska, assuming of course that it stops snowing and the highway opens back up. and that my car isn’t towed in the middle of the night for being parked on a public street with expired tags…