First Day on the Road

Sunday April 1

The alarm woke me at 5 a.m. I put the bedding in the washing machine, cooked and ate some breakfast, and finished loading the car. By the time Phoebe and Abby were ready to load, the bedding went into the dryer. I loaded the kitties, put the door key under the mat, and bid farewell to 8913 Somerset Boulevard.

To pass the time, I listen to "How to Build a House," a book on CD, the bane of many a reader, but welcome relief to those who spend many a long hour on the road. The book, though not what I expected, was nevertheless interesting.

The kitties made it OK, though Phoebe pitched a fit for about the first hour, and both barfed and pooped in her travel case. So I had to pull off the Interstate to a gas station, removing the offending effluents, and wash the fleece liner as best I could in the men's room and dry it as best as possible using the wall-mounted hand dryer.

But after that, she settled down and both kitties slept for most of the remainder of the trip. Strange as it may sound, I think the sound of the female voice narrating the book on CD soothed them. The destination today is Macon, Georgia. That's a little south of Atlanta by about 75 miles, but you have to remember I started out further south in Ft. Myers as opposed to starting out from Orlando. Plus, my watch trading buddy, Dan (from Atlanta), was unable to meet with me on my way, so there was little point in trying to make it to Atlanta.

As is was, I logged about 540 miles, and the trip went without incident, stopping only to pee and to fill once with gas. I nibbled on trail mix and buffalo jerky, and had a couple of bottles of water with me, so I didn't have to stop for lunch.

I got into Macon about 5:30, and pulled into my Motel 6 where I had a reservation. It is a bare-bones travel lodge style of motel, but you don’t get much for $39.95 these days! At least they didn’t charge extra for the two kitties. I had “breakfast for dinner” at a nearby Waffle House. For some reason, that sounded good to me. I had the waffle special, which is a festival of carbs with grits, toast, and the waffle. For protein, you get two eggs and choice of pork product, of which I had sausage.

Phoebe spent the first portion of the evening hissing in the motel room, asserting her Alpha-ness over Abby, who could have cared less. I phoned Dawn to let her know I made it OK. I did a little emailing, a little Internet surfing, and watched a little TV. Hit the sack around 10:30. The cats decided to have a "kitty pajama party" for a portion of the night, leaping from bed to bed with apparently great joy. Also, the damned air conditoner apparently had some type of "governor" on it, allowing the room only to be cooled to about 75 degrees, which is warm for me and prompted me to lay on the bed sans sheet or cover. Despite all this, I manage a few good hours of sleep. Driving tends to do that for me.

Bruce