Road Trip Bonanza Part 1

Holy smokes, this is gonna take longer than just one post simply because I want to tell you ALL about it. Yes, I do! I usually use Foursquare to check-in just so my friend in London can keep tabs on what I'm doing but it proved to be invaluable when it came time to sit down and write about my road trip!

Wednesday, February 22, 2010

6:57 a.m.

My roommate gave me a ride to Debby's on her way to work. Of course, we had to stop at Starbucks for her Chai and my Pumpkin Spice Latte. Once I arrived at Debby's, I helped her load a few last minutes things into her vehicle (namely the cat!).

8:15 a.m.

A quick stop at Arco to get some soda...and we're off!

9:46 a.m.

We stop in Barstow, CA to gas up at a Shell station. We discuss lunch and decide to stop in Vegas. Woohoo!

About half hour before hitting Vegas, Cuddles decides that she has had enough of being in a cat carrier and since her complaints about riding in a vehicle have been ignored by us, she begins to go wild:  She claws and bites at her cloth carrier in an attempt to gain freedom. I reached back and brought the carrier to the front and set her on my lap. That only calmed her down for a few minutes (like 5) and then she went Rambo again. Debby and I quickly decided that we needed to find a PETCO in Vegas to see if they could recommend any products for calming the cat down. We also realized that a stronger, hard-sided cat carrier was needed to keep Cuddles safe. I whipped out my iPhone; did a search and we found a PETCO. I did my best to keep Cuddles calm until we could get there!

12:55 p.m.

We arrive at the PETCO on Blue Diamond Road and the sales associate was very knowledgeable and explained to us that she had driven from North Carolina to Vegas with two cats and these magic collars kept her cats calm. SOLD!

Next, we look at the pet carriers to pick one out and then ask if anyone could help us get the cat into the carrier. It turns out that neither Debby nor I know how to correctly do this since it took us almost 20 minutes to get Cuddles into the old carrier at home! I tell you, PETCO in Las Vegas saved the day!

12:47 p.m.

We see a Del Taco directly across from PETCO and decided to make that our lunch stop. We sat outside so we could put the cat carrier on the table next to us. I decided to make "cat TV" for Cuddles by tossing pieces of french fries at a spot she could see - the pigeons were gobbling up the fries and Cuddles was entertained by the performance while we ate, LOL.

1:31 p.m.

We've finished eating and have pulled into Fills to gas up the vehicle. Cuddles is very calm but we are still apprehensive because we're not sure how she will react once we are back on the Interstate. At this point, Debby and I switch places and I drive for a spell. Since I've never driven on the I-15 past Vegas, I'm curious as to what the terrain looks like. I'm excited! Besides, I love to drive.

I was enjoying the terrain so I asked Debby to grab my phone and take a couple of pics.

5:09 p.m.

We have reached New Harmony, Utah and it's time for a stretch so I pulled into a Texaco station. My legs were stiff so rather than jump out of the vehicle, I slithered off the seat like a snake, LOL! After gassing up the vehicle, Debby and I traded places and we took off.

6:34 p.m.

Beaver, Utah

We saw a couple of signs that informed us that there were no more gas stations for the next 150 miles so we got off the highway and pulled into a Shell/Burger King combo for a pit stop.

Good thing we stopped when we did because about half hour down the road, everything came to a complete stop. I mean COMPLETE stop - engines turned off, people walking around on the Interstate!

At that point in time we weren't too tired because we were only 2 hours away from Green River, Utah, which was our stop for the night. To pass the time, I pulled out my iPhone and we watched some videos that I had loaded up for the flight home. What the heck, right? Well, that got old real quick so we started munching on some cookies we had in our snack pack. So much for dinner in Green River. Guess what? We actually sat there for 2 and a half hours!! During that time, we heard several rumors from the truckers that were standing around talking. First everyone thought there was a bad accident on the highway about a half mile ahead of us. Then, there was talk about a hostage situation. Finally, someone from the Transportation Department, told us that passenger vehicles were being allowed to turn around one at a time and rerouted to the old highway for a detour. Then we could get back on the Interstate down the road. OK...

It was a long drive from that point, mostly because about an hour into it, we were both losing steam. I fought to keep awake, making silly sounds, singing old advertisement jingles, anything I could do so as not to fall asleep. I felt bad for Debby because her eyes were burning and watering.

12:38 a.m.

We FINALLY pulled in to the Ramada in Green River! It took us three trips to unload the car and I finally collapsed into bed at 1:15 a.m.

Stay tuned for part 2!