This week, with Jess’ parent’s help, we’re hauling our three dogs and all our deluxe-goods from Sierra Vista, AZ to our new house near Newnan, GA. 

Most of the day we kept a steady pace.  The idea I was trying to keep us motivated under was to operate in 3 or 4 4-hour driving shifts.  The men would take turns driving the moving truck as our wives would rest.  Meanwhile, the other wife would drive the car while we husbands were to rest.  The 8-10 hours that most people can stand to drive would possibly jump up to 16 hours of driving a day… hopefully getting us to our destination with only one night in a hotel.

The biggest problem with my 2-day plan is that the top speed of the hugest Penske truck pulling a dolly with my loaded pickup truck is probably supposed to be 55mphs.  We’ve been doing 65 and taking way too many and way too long of breaks so far.  A trip I hoped would be split into two 13ish-hour-days is probably going to end up being more like three 10ish-hour-days.  That’s fine though.  Two would be pushing it as we’d be arriving at our new dirty house without hot water or beds, and late at night after a long second day.

By 11PM last night, we decided to be done driving for the day.  The four of us were alone in this decision for a frustrating amount of time.  Having just started our trek across northern Texas, entering I-20, we came across miles of towns with the same problem:  No Vacancy.  Apparently the oil business along this stretch of I-20 keeps all the hotels filled up with workers throughout the weeknights (as one hotel told us).

After driving around and calling a bunch of hotels, Jess found one with one room, out of many towns, actually able to take our business and even let our dogs come with us.  She asked the man at the front desk if he could hold the room for us and gave him her name.  About 20 minutes later we pulled into the hotel as a younger lady walked out of the lobby with a slight skip in her step.  Just as I feared, the man at the counter gave the other lady their last room just seconds before we arrived.  He said he did his best to hold it as long as he could.

We morned our situation for a few minutes and felt like we might end up driving until the sun came up.  I was deciding to be okay with this.  Jess was deciding not to…  which was a better decision.  She continued calling all the hotels in the next towns as we continued down I-20, now at almost 1AM.  The dogs were a little shaken, not willing to eat or go to the bathroom.  The poor parents, having still been on Florida time, were approaching 24-hours of being awake.  Morale was descending.

A little after 2AM, Jess finally found a room in the town of Big Spring.  We tried to herd all our scarred dogs into the hotel room as baggage and groans crashed down around them.  Link had enough at this point and felt like it was time for a mini-escape out into the parking lot.  Bill blocked the other frantic dogs with fallen suitcases and one of his legs as I secured poor Link.

We finally all made it to bed safely… and most of us even made it to sleep.  

I think I have something wrong with my brain.  Half of me is just really excited to keep driving and watching the country change.  The other half keeps offering dreams of the local scumbags making it off with the moving truck and all our stuff.  Unfortunately, the only place to park this huge truck, towing my pickup in the midst of flooded hotels, is way back behind the building in the dirt and over near the Wal-Mart dumpsters.  So anyway, after 4 hours of tossing and turning, I decided I might as well get up and share yesterday’s adventures.  

Day two is about here now.  As I sit on the floor of a nasty hotel with Lystra’s snoring head vibrating on my leg, I’m excited to make it through Texes and start driving in the states that actually look different than AZ.  

These thick plastic curtains are probably blocking out too much light.
I might have to start doing the fake-cough until my travel companions arise.

Thanks for reading