Macon Whoo-pee

Okay, the title is an easy shot. But after 9 hours in the saddle, so to speak, I'm not capable of anything more creative.

After 2-1/2 days of hard driving, we have finally arrived in Georgia. I loathe my car. I do not want to get back in the driver's seat. Eric has offered to let me drive the UHaul and trailer tomorrow, but I don't think so!

Let me go back and add details from the last few days. (I couldn't blog as much as I wanted to last night since my laptop was needed for computer radio.)

Let's see - Durant. Friday night in the big town. Now, my parents and I used to stop in Durant as the halfway point between Dallas and Muldrow/Ft. Smith. I can't count the number of times we stopped for Mickey D's in Doo-rant. I've also been down there several times for music auditions for OAI. That, however, doesn't have anything to do with actually finding hotel space in Durant. We ended up staying at the Budget Inn. Okay spot, as long as you didn't want to take a shower. Bathroom was a little too ratty. On the upside from the Motel 6 the night before, we did get a larger tv with more channels, a microwave and fridge. Nathan was happy - there was a Mickey D's with a playground in the other end of the parking lot.

Eric had determined that we needed to leave at 7:30 a.m. to be sure and get to the hotel in plenty of time to get the game. I told him I would pack the car (I can do it without getting cranky). I just want everyone to know that even with me doing all the trips back and forth to the car, we were on the road by 7:25 - 5 MINUTES TO SPARE!

Now, to be fair, let me give you an idea of what is involved in loading and unloading the car. All three of us has separate luggage for our clothes. 1 vanity case for bathroom needs. 1 milk crate with any drinks/food for the hotel room. 1 laptop case. 1 small igloo for drinks. 1 16 inch tv for Nathan to play his PS2 on. 1 cat in a carrier. 1 cat on the loose. 1 container of cat food. 1 box of kitty litter, and 1 litter box. Aside from all of that, we have to bring in charge cords for the 2 cell phones, the 2 walkie-talkies, the GameBoy system and the portable DVD player.

We traveled from Durant to Idabel. Got lost. A very nice police man from the Choctaw Nation stopped to give us directions. Makes me wish that we had a least gone by the Choctaw Nation museum in Durant. Turned south from Idabel to DeKalb, Texas. Now, we were pronouncing it De KALB with a hard L. Apparently, however, the locals call it DEE Kab.

From there we traveled through Texarkana to Shreveport and had lunch at the local Subway. Nathan has seen the commercials where kids talk about how everything else in their lives are chosen for them, but at Subway they can pick whatever they want. So Nathan wants to go to Subway any chance he can get. Nathan's idea of the ideal lunch? A ham and cheese sandwich on white bread, with 3 pieces of bacon and extra pepperoni. I think that covers just about every part of the pig. Point of fact - Shreveport is where Eric and I spent our wedding night. This time I think we lasted about 30 minutes in town.

From Shreveport we kept truckin' on I-2o to Jackson, Mississippi. The north Jackson La Quinta Inn was a definite step up from the Budget Inn. The wireless connection was not as easy as advertized. I ended up spending about 15 minutes on the phone with a techno geek in India to get online.

That brings us to today. Luckily, the searing retinas were not as much of a problem. The 1,000 foot pine trees lining I-20 provided enough shade that the morning glare wasn't as much of a problem. It was odd not to see the horizon because of the trees.

The town of Chunky, Mississippi wins my vote for the most unusual place name that we encountered. Have to also highlight the convenience store worker in Mississippi, who when we asked her if she knew where the time zone changed said, "I don't think it changes down here in the south. I think it's north of Virginia." Bless your heart.

Once we got to the Alabama border, we got off I-20 and went on state highway 80. Eric, who was in the lead, managed to miss the highway 80 exit. He can never criticize my cognitive mapping skills again. Apparently his Potawatomi rader wasn't working today. An extra 15 miles out of our way, and a lovely detour through the town of York, Alabama, and we were back on track.

We were definitely on the civil rights circuit today as we drove through Selma and Montgomery. The key phrase is 'drove through'. I don't think you get any credit for studying history or connecting with the struggles by just 'driving through.' I feel bad that I haven't taken any pictures to document our journey to a new life, but please! I've got enough electronic crap and road weariness that I'm lucky to keep track of my purse, much less my camera.

The last 'little' bit from Columbus to Macon seemed to last for-EVER! And I couldn't get the Cowboy game on the radio. Once we checked into the Ramada Inn we found the game on tv, but by then it was all over but the crying. The '72 Dolphins can rest easy tonight.

Tomorrow, luckily, is just about a 3 hour drive. About another 4 days in a Motel 6, and we hopefully will be able to move into senior NCO quarters at Ft. Stewart. I'm ready.