I didn’t get all of my packing done last night.  I worked until I was so punch drunk I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing.  I finally decided — with some prompting from OC (on the phone) – to get some sleep and hit it fresh in the morning.  I slept.  No, I over slept . So I came charging from my room ready to do battle … and for some reason I had left the vacuum cleaner right at the end of the hallway.  I whacked it with my little toe and neatly — okay, bloodily — removed the toenail.  Not a good start.

I finished packing in very good time. Then I went to the post office to mail several of the boxes to my sister – and the line stretched from breakfast to lunch.  Finally, packages mailed, I charged home to pack the car.  I figured that would take a lifetime, but the neighbor guy came over and did it in minutes.  After the car was packed I showered, put on clean clothes, turned in my keys, and hit the open road.  It was 1 p.m. — much later then I had planned to leave.

I made up a bit of time in the vast flatness that is Arizona.  The road is straight from horizon the horizon, so I just stepped down on the gas pedal.  There was another fellow in an even bigger hurry than I.  I was going 90 m.p.h. and he shot past me like I was standing still.  His haste made me rethink mine and I slowed down.  Even so, I passed him a couple of miles later and he was standing still — he’d stopped to look at some pretty blue flashing lights. 

 Right now I am in a motel just outside Salt Lake City, Utah — halfway to Spokane.  It was a long drive — 7.5 hours — and much of the route was being repaved, so we were routed to single file lines rolling too slow.  For a goodly portion of the drive into Salt Lake we actually traveled on the shoulder of the road.  Mile after mile — over an hour — of driving on the “wake up” strip.  My hands tingled from all the vibration in the steering wheel — and we won’t even talk about the noise …..   Driving in Salt Lake itself is actually a joy.  Even during rush hour the 10 lane freeway doesn’t get crowded.  The drivers were very courteous, too.  It was almost surreal.

After I checked into the motel — even before I unpacked the car –I went down the block to Applebee’s and had my only bite of food in almost 9 hours.  I ordered a steak, and ate like a vacuum cleaner.  I am not certain I didn’t munch the napkin.

Now I’m going to bed.

Good-nighzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………