Such A Fine Site to See

Free WiFi, baby--I has it!

After getting up much too early, and working much too hard, I'm taking a much-needed rest in lovely Winslow Arizona tonight. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Mikey has left the building! I managed to get 319 miles away from Henderson on this first day of traveling--I thought I'd get much more, but damn, I'm just beat like a drum in a circle of hippies.

Once I unplugged on Saturday, I had a rather productive day. I got the couch sold early on in the day, and then I spent several hours trying to get the rest of the house packed up. I had a rule--if I hadn't worn or used something since I'd moved into the Batch Pad, it went in the trash. Oh dear god, I threw away a TON of stuff. I wore my ass out just hiking back and forth to the dumpster. Early in the afternoon, I bagged it for awhile, and after I dropped off the cable box, I motored down to The Strip to meet up with Ed W and Michelle.

As I drove into the Bally's/Paris parking garage, a wave of thank god I don't have to do this anymore washed over me. Seriously, I made the right decision--I'm so over Vegas right now, I can't even believe it.

Anyhow, once we found a place we could get some service, we had a nice enjoyable visit for a few hours. We smoked cigars and drank martinis, just like in the old days, and it was great to be able to see them once more before I headed back east.

While I was there, I got a call from a guy willing to buy the rest of that ammo I had on hand, which turned out to be a great thing. I wanted $450 for everything, but selling it all separately, I got $500 for it. Very nice...

Anyhow, I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning, sorting junk in the closets, packing more storage totes, and generally cleaning up (don't know why, they're keeping my deposit...) I gave up and got about five hours of sleep before starting up again. I had to run a few last minute errands, and then picked up the trailer at 9:00 am. I didn't do too badly negotiating the obstacle course at the apartment complex, and actually had the thing backed in straight on my second try (I haven't backed a trailer in eight years).

I had a couple of movers come over--got an awesome deal on it, too--two guys for two hours for $80--and they loaded my entire apartment in an hour and a half. Nothing left behind but cleaning supplies. But man, my truck is loaded down. It's rated to tow and haul 3500 lbs, and I think, with my phat ass in the cab, it's tipping the scales at like 3498 lbs. It's FULL.

Once I paid them off and got the paperwork all done, I went inside and collapsed on the floor for an hour. The lack of sleep and all the exercise I wasn't used to damn near wore me out. I finally motivated myself into the shower (damn, just remembered, I left my shower curtain), and then got dressed, grabbed my backpack and carry-on bag, and got on the road. I stopped at the Sinclair station on the corner to get some Gatorade, bottled water, and a Snickers (hadn't eaten anything all day), and then tried to send out a mass text message to everyone in my phone. Unfortunately, my phone wouldn't allow me to do it, so I gave up and just said the hell with it, I got to go!

I left Vegas in the rear-view mirror at 2:30 in the afternoon, and headed south. I was worried sick about the truck because I'm carrying a heavy load (all them damn books, plus enough canned goods from the pantry that it feels like I've got your average-sized Packer fan stuffed in a Rubbermaid tote), and I didn't want a replay of my trip out to Vegas five years ago when I killed the transmission on the Ghetto Sled just sixty miles outside of Nashville.

Driving down 93/95, I felt like, damn, I'm never gonna make it, this load is too heavy, so I was babying it along. Also, I didn't want to climb that ridiculous maze out of Black Canyon once I crossed Hoover Dam, so I took the long way around and went through Laughlin. Stupid idea. The hills are much worse coming in and out of Laughlin. All it did was add an extra 40 miles to the trip.

Turns out, the truck is much happier hauling freight at 65-70 mph than it is at 55. But I was scared shiatless that I was gonna blow the engine apart until I got past the 60 mile mark, and then just mildly nervous until I hit that sign right outside Flagstaff that said 'Arizona Divide - Elevation 7305 ft'. Yep, it was all uphill for the first 275 miles or so. I hated that. But now I'm on the downhill run.

My truck has a towing gear on it, and I also left the air conditioner off whenever the road was something less than level, so it didn't strain too much. It's running like a champ, although, I only got 12 miles a gallon on the leg to Kingman, and I got 13 and change on the second leg to Winslow. It should improve tomorrow. Most of the hilliest driving is behind me.

Anyhow, I'm just beat. I've had a very long weekend, and my quads feel like I've been doing leg presses all day, and I'm just flat out tired. I wandered across the parking lot to the KFC and grabbed a chicken sandie, since all I've eaten today was half a Snickers bar, and now I'm ready for bed, once I take a quick shower.

So that's the news from the Motel 6. I've got a long day ahead of me on Monday, so I'm off to get some rest.

Peace out, y'all...

Mikey