Knowing tetanus is a concern for penetrating wounds like that, I checked my shot record and reluctantly decided I should get a tetanus booster, so I worked that into my morning, too. There's an entire story about my tetanus shot, but I'll spare you. Picking up the truck went smoothly and I was able to use my trailer backing skills to get it, my car, and the car trailer in the parking spaces around my apartment. Armed with a wounded finger, sore shoulder (from the shot), and a dolly, I packed up the truck, then cleaned my apartment. I was irritated that the cleaning supplies and road trip supplies took so many trips to pack into the truck and my car because it had started to rain as I was doing this. I rethought the situation and was thankful it had not been raining while I packed the truck in the morning.
After handing over my keys, I hit the road for home at 5pm. I made it a good five or six hours before pulling into a rest stop to sleep. I noticed Florida has a very well-developed rest stop system, with nighttime security at the stops and good road signage indicating each rest stop and how far to the next one. That night was pretty chilly. I slept in the back seat of my car and neglected to bring my sweater back from the truck cab, so I spent the night in shorts and a t-shirt, shivering. I turned on the car long enough for the heater to kick in at one point, but it was still a difficult night of sleep.
On Thursday the 18th, I slept in a little, then of course brushed my teeth and changed my shirt, socks, and underwear. I hit the road around 9am. My meals and snacks along the way consisted of the emergency food stores I had bought at the beginning of hurricane season plus a few extras for fresher fare. Fruit cocktail, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, dried fruit, beef jerky, lots of water, and various snacks gave me decently balanced meals each day. That evening, I was flipping through radio channels around the Alabama-Mississippi border and came across Swap Shop. This was basically a radio version of Craigslist (if you're a baby boomer or older, it's like the newspaper classifieds). People would call in, give a quick spiel about what they had to sell, trade, or what they wanted to buy. The announcer then repeated the person's phone number and took the next caller. Later that night, I drove through the town of Monroe, LA, and, without intending any offense to the inhabitants, I kept thinking a port-a-potty had exploded. Shortly thereafter, I found a truck stop to pull into and sleep. That night was looking to be even colder, so I put on my sweater, remembered the blanket I always keep in my trunk, and bundled up in that. It was still too cold, so I turned the car on again for the heater, but fell asleep for I don't know how long before waking up to a roasting hot car.
Friday morning, after an otherwise uneventful night, I awoke just after 6am to a cartoon giraffe smiling down at me. If he hadn't looked so friendly, I would have been totally creeped out. As I walked into the truck stop to brush my teeth and change, I noticed a nearby semi was getting hooked up with jumper cables. When I came back out, a skinny older guy asked if my rental was a diesel because they needed a diesel engine to give them a jump. I told him it wasn't. A younger fat guy got out and started trying to push the whole rig backwards down a slight slope. Thing didn't budge. I asked him if you could roll start a semi and he distractedly said yes. The skinny guy got out again and asked if I could nose up to their truck and push them backwards just enough to start the engine. I checked the bumper, decided it was solid enough, and gave it a shot. The point on their truck where my bumper contacted was unsupported plastic, so nothing happened, but it was almost an exciting moment. Throughout Louisiana, I noticed signs reminding me I was in Cajun country, advertising Get-N-Geaux, which I assume is a store. An hour into that day's drive, I saw an orange sign warning of "road work next 38.1 miles." Alas, I did not verify this measurement.
I got to Dallas in the early afternoon and spent the day with my friends, catching up. They asked if I wanted to stay longer than one night, and the sense of freedom I had felt since hitting the open road was actualized as I decided to stay another night. She had to attend a three-times-per-semester class that night and most of Saturday, so I spent a lot of time with him that night and the next day, seeing Dallas and getting to know each other better. I feel like I connected with him better in those two days than in all of high school. I'm hoping to be able to connect with people on a deeper level more quickly and adeptly in the future. I was well-fed and actually got to shower during my stay, and hit the road again the morning of Sunday the 21st. I found it confusing trying to get to I-35 East North to get out of town.
It was a long drive to get back to Colorado, but I had become a driving machine by that point, and I made it back that night. I first started feeling at home about 45 miles north of the Colorado border, when I noticed that all the license plates were from CO. I have a habit of looking at plates, and had grown accustomed to the slight disappointment and sense of foreignness upon seeing all the Florida plates. At that point when I realized all the cars were from CO, I felt a relief from that sense of disappointment and being out of place, and realized I was actually coming home.
My dad and I had downloaded an app that lets you track your friends' locations, so he was following my progress, "vicariously taking a vacation" with me. I let my sister know when I'd get in, so they were my welcoming committee and guided me in parking the truck and trailer. For that night, I only unpacked the bare essentials to sleep through the night. Now, to appreciate my first night home, you have to understand that my mother is EXTREMELY frugal with her heater usage. This being my mindset, and not wanting to drive up her utilities too much, I left the thermostat where it was, not realizing she had turned it down while she was out of town on business. Needless to say, sleeping with only thin blankets in my sub-54 degree room left me absolutely frigid the next morning. Not to give you the wrong idea, this was actually almost pleasant after not being truly cold for five months.
I have settled in well and am now pursuing employment, cooking, reading, and in general trying to make good use of time. Thinking back on my time in Florida, I wanted to remember the bad and the good, so I made lists of things I'll be glad to be rid of and things I'm sorry to leave. I'm glad to be away from all the face-stretched, dermabrasioned, over-tanned, breast-augmented, tummy-tucked, car-pimped superficiality of Southern Florida. It is odd to me that an area can have a "feel" to it, but I think the people in Colorado are more down-to-Earth and less concerned about appearance. I'm also glad to be away from the constant, oppressive heat and humidity. Those reflector bumps on the roads are a nuisance, too; we don't have them in snow-plowed Colorado. Access to the beach is one thing I'll miss, along with Okeeheelee Park and Nature Center. I had some very calming walks and learned about the local flora and fauna on the trails through the nature center. There were several good biking and running options from my apartment that took me on looped routes, which are a lot more stimulating than taking the same path out and back. I also never had to worry about lotion or eye drops. When all is said and done, though, I'm glad to be in familiar surroundings near family. Maybe some day I'll want to live elsewhere, but for now, Colorado is home.
Scott
Ouch. The coil went in under my nail and came out where that drop of blood is on the side.
That long silver one is the evil culprit. It still had my blood on it. I always imagined that was the source of the phrase "caught red-coiled."
Toys-R-Us giraffe looking in my window.
