Wednesday, February 25, 2009

ROAD TRIP TO ARIZONA: DAY ONE

We had planned to leave for Arizona at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 26. But Tom and I are old and easily frightened, so a weather forecast of 4-6 inches of snow being dumped directly on the road we were planning to travel on Thursday moved our plan up by about 16 hours.

Instead of going to bed in our own bed one more night, we loaded up the Camry at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and are currently at the Day’s Inn right off Interstate 80 in Lincoln, Nebraska. It’s a very basic hotel room (define "basic" as "crusty"), but we’ll be staying here less than 12 hours, so it’s all we need. The price was right.

We left Alexandria in 19 degree weather with piles of snow; and by the time we reached Nebraska, it was 45 degrees with only slight traces of snow in sheltered places. So we’ve already driven through the teens in Minnesota, the 20s in South Dakota, the 30s in Iowa, and the 40s in Nebraska—and by Saturday, we’ll be in the Arizona 80s!

I had stopped by the library before we left town and picked up some books on tape. Today we listened to a book called The First Patient by Michael Palmer—a mystery thriller about the President of the United States’ personal physician going missing and how it all tied into the CIA, the Secret Service, and nanotechnology used to deliver hallucinogenic drugs triggered by a remote control device. (Wow! Did that ever sound dumb when I wrote it down.) It wasn’t exactly great literature, but it kept us occupied for six of the eight hours it took to drive to Lincoln.

So good night, Lincoln. Good night, University of Nebraska. Good night, Cornhuskers. Time to turn off the lights. One day closer to holding Colbie! We’ll be on the road again at 8 a.m. Thursday, on our way to Denver.

4 comments:

Elaine said...

Go Huskers! Who would have thought Mecca was located in Lincoln? We have been to the shrine, all awash in a sea of red, and replenished our own wardrobes; well, at least with sweatshirts, caps, T-shirts, and backpacks. And Greg yearns for the day when he can return.

bd said...

AAAHHH, on the road:-) I am jealous. Have fun! Good thing you left early-the schools are all closed in our area( Alex is open) and NOAA puts us in the 9-13 inches of snow range.

Anonymous said...

Growing up outside of Omaha, I grew to despise the Cornhuskers. We only got Omaha news stations so we got to hear daily reports about how they practiced in sweatpants and what kind of hobbies the football players had. Maybe the real reason I couldn't stand them is because they gave an annual walloping to Iowa State.

Anonymous said...

It's a good thing you left when you did for more than one reason. Earlier today, the little town of Onawa, Iowa (south of Sioux City on I-29) got hit with a big hailstorm. If my calculations are correct, and if you would have left today; you may have been taking your new Camry into a big dent party that you were not invited to! Good call on leaving yesterday. Also, tons of snow was dumped on Minnesota. I would say we got 42 inches.