Now that I'm in Washington, I thought I'd talk a little about the trip. We'll see how much. On a pseudo-poetic whim, I’ve decided to sum up my little excursion across the country with this ersatz acrostic.
A is for Alexander and Aiden, the two nephews I finally got to meet.
B is for Boise, the only stop I made in Idaho.
C is for Coca-Cola, which I drank a lot of while behind the wheel.
D is for the dolly upon which my car was towed.
E is for Erica, the very reason for the move.
F is for Flying J, which has surprisingly good pizza for a truck stop chain.
G is for the Great Salt Lake in Utah, which I got to visit.
H is for Hamilton, Michigan, still my home though I’m so many miles away.
I is for Iowa, the first state on this trip that I’d previously never been in before.
J is for Jerome County in Idaho and Joliet, Illinois: the former, where the longest road construction backups were for me; the latter, where the construction actually forced me off the interstate at one point.
K is for Kennecott, the copper mining facility we went to visit.
L is for Laramie, Wyoming, the first city with serious downgrade warnings.
M is for Mark, the brother with whom I reconnected.
N is for Nebraska, the only state I didn’t see a sign welcoming me into, because I was driving into the sunset and through a work zone at the time.
O is for Oregon, which had the most beautiful mountain scenery.
P is for Penske, the company that rented me the truck.
Q is for quesadillas, which I had for dinner my second night.
R is for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame series of homemade CD’s I listened to in the truck for most of the trip.
S is for Sandra, my sister-in-law whom I finally met.
T is for TomTom and TracFone, the two technological presents that made this trip a lot easier.
U for Umatilla, both the only stop I made in Oregon, and the reservation with the deadliest stretch of road the entire trip.
V is for the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame series CD’s, the other homemade disc set I listened to while driving.
W is for the wounds that reconciliation have finally healed.
X is for the Xanadu Restaurant, where I ate my first breakfast in the state of Washington.
Y is for Yakima, which was the projected hit point for day five (or seven depending on how you looked at it), and where I should have stopped that day, since I found myself driving into the sunset after that point.
Z is for zero, the number of regrets I have for having done this.
And the Top Ten significant numbers of this trip:
10. States I drove in.
9. Days of the truck rental lease
8. Days I actually used the truck
7. The time I usually woke up each morning.
6. Motel chain I spent two of my three motel nights in.
5. Maximum number of states driven in within a single day (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska).
4. Relatives in Magna, Utah visited.
3. Time zones moved across
2. Times we readjusted the wheel straps to make sure my car was secure on the towing dolly.
1. Woman who made all this worthwhile.
Hammy and cheesy, yes, but hold the wry.
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