The Great American Cross-Country Trip - Tag 3

Day 3 (Tuesday, 01/26/2010):

• 7:00 AM - The Holiday Inn Express sure costs a tad more than Quality Inn. Reasons - It is in CA and two, the breakfast does have range. We have a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast but the long drive has made us sore, just one leg that is. In this country one uses only their right leg coz most of the cars have an automatic shift. So, no clutch pedal to worry about. We know its monstrous but we decide to reach home today. A good day early! Wifey reasons that I may not go to the office on the Wednesday as it would give me time to recuperate and I had earlier informed by bosses that I would report to work only on the Thursday.
  
• 9:00ish AM - As I search through my notes, I notice that being a dimwit that I am, I have accidentally deleted the portion having today's record. So there will be approximate timings and no remarks on the fuel trends. We pose for a few snaps and quickly start off to escape the unpleasant stench that I will now associate with Bakersfield for the rest of my life.
• 10:30ish AM - I notice signs indicating that a California Welcome Center is a couple of exits away. My touristy instinct kicks in and I take the bait. We realize that there is an agricultural conference of sorts going on there but that does not deter us from posing away.
  
• 2:00ish PM - I am already beginning to hate California from the bottom of my heart. I have never seen such dense and rapidly moving traffic. It serves to keep one alert and watch the road. On second thoughts, I suppose that is what one should be doing. My wife suggests that she pilot the ride and I readily acquiesce. Not before a heavy Arby's lunch though.
• 3:30ish PM - As I sit in the passenger seat, I pull back the sun roof and gaze idly around. My wife complains that I have these spikes of energy - in the mornings, I shout my lungs out but as the day progresses, I keep to myself and acknowledge her questions with a nod and/or a guttural sound. She is also thankful that most of the trip has gone by without us having a tiff. I summon my energy and remark that we've been lucky not to get ticketed by the cops too. She's mad at me and says I should not jinx the trip.
  
• 5:30ish PM - I think I spoke too soon. We have a small tiff. At the end I'm miffed and she pleased for having shown me my place :). As she gloats, we see some flashing lights behind us. Uh, oh. My wife's usually quite sharp at noticing cop-cars and she did notice one 5 miles earlier. It is the same cop. He pulls us over. The charge? One of our headlights is not working in the dipper position. He tickets us and assures us that it would not blemish my wife's driving record if we got the thing working. My wife bonks me over the head and takes the next exit to a Walmart where the nice mechanic fixes it by adjusting some wires.
• 6:30ish PM - We are all fixed, caffeinated, fueled and ready to depart. Wifey suggests that I take over for some time before it becomes real dark. At night, I do not see and drive. I work the bat mechanics. Sonar sound is my secret.
  
• 7:30ish PM - Aah, Oregon, did I miss you or what? With all those huge douglas-fir trees and the fog and the general rainy environ. I cannot see all of this but I sure smell it in the air.
• 8:30ish PM - I have spent the last hour driving with my tongue sticking out. It, folks, is a sign of extreme concentration on my part. Wife makes me pull over because of the dense fog and takes over.
  
• 11:30ish PM - We are dog-tired. The effect of the energy drinks has worn off. Wife pulls over and suggests that we take cat-nap. I am better at controlling sleep so I take over the wheel.
  
• 12:30ish AM - I have sleep-driven at 80 mph and somehow managed to reach Salem. We need fuel, both for the car and the body. Arco fills the car for cheap and Taco Bell it is for us. Some Mexican fare later, we fight against our senses as we undertake the last leg of our journey. It is just 50 miles but feels like 500.
  
• 2:00 AM - A car jolt wakes me up. It is the first time I had slept besides the driver. As veterans would tell you, this is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Sleep, like flu, is downright contagious. By the way, WE ARE HOME!!!
  

Terrain talk - Today was the worst day we had both in terms of the length of the drive and also the terrain. California is way too commercialized to marvel at. By the time we drove through Mt. Shasta and entered Oregon, it was too dark to appreciate. The only good thing was that we reached home unscathed.

We have driven for 17 hrs (including rest-stops) and covered approximately 870 miles today. Here's to a life together with wifey in this country. Home is where the heart is....

Ciao!