Mythruna

Pulled an all nighter to sleep through most of day 1 but only managed to sleep for ~7 hours regardless. Had McDonald's for the first time in 2 years and used an exceptionally clean gas station bathroom. I'm in the very back seat of my family's minivan holding a cup of ice that once held far less tea than ice. I have all the conveniences of home too; Three of my bags are dedicated to my electronics and I managed to fit my desktop in here with me. There may not be a suitable TV for my desktop though, not that I mind a less elegant setup. I have a special pillow for these trips and it has yet to fail me. Breakfast was an egg, cheese, and spinach bagel - sandwich thing. Oddly enough, it was delectable.

The clean bathroom was at a Loves gas station in Kentucky. The bathroom door even had a sign posted with a phone number if it wasn't up to par.  I wondered if the reason the bathroom was clean was just responsible management or a product of the laminated marvel adorning the door. The urinals were a little too splashy for my liking, though.

There was an adjoining McDonald's which wasn't fast enough for my mother's liking. She ordered unsweet tea but ended up taking matters into her own hands and asked for the cups in advance. We spent several minutes searching for something with "unsweetened tea" plastered on the front. (At which point I remarked "Welcome to Kentucky!") In the end, my mother enlisted the help of one of the establishment's employees, which he then replied "Yeah, people ask that alot". He pointed to a small tank of tea above the sweet tea, diet sweet tea, and raspberry tea.

Back to the car and roads lined with sparse forests, red dirt, corn, and landslide foam, accompanied by sparse buildings and small towns. All I cared about at the time was the two McChickens and my fries. As I write this, a truck stop has a single occupant working on his vehicle. "Stupid ass" and various other obscenities echo through the car as a reckless driver passes us. Rain drones on the roof like that of a hot shower.

More food was passed back to me. My mother's burger. She never finishes her meals, even after getting rid of her completely stopped up gall bladder. I spend a few minutes just staring at it. The same burger I opted out of eating as a courtesy nearly half an hour earlier.

The foliage is mottled with soft looking evergreens. I was always quite fascinated by just how adaptable they are. An obituary plays on the radio. An unarmed African american gunned down by a police officer. Various exploits of other  local crimes, the announcer commenting that it's all about opportunity and that the world is just populated by animals. My parents murmur in agreement. The channel was based in Nashville judging from its' outro.

I still have yet to eat the burger. My father remarks about how it's hot in the car, but I built what you can call a tolerance to heat. My bed room's faulty air conditioning left me resilient to such things. Idle chat has run dry. My mother sings along to a country song; matched well by her accent. I noticed I felt tired... but remember I always am. I knew my lifestyle took a toll on my energy, but my tendency to not care about things until it starts hurting leaves the affair unaddressed. My mother's burger is now an hour cold.

An argument springs about where we need to go, nothing notable. There are sheer cliffs lining the road, and I ponder whether they are a natural feature or crafted of man. We're headed to Chattanooga now. We'll soon be stopping near an industrial zone in Tennessee. I guess it's time to eat that burger.

Wow, I really love your writing style, its more than just a short and plain  post. I like the tone and feeling you send through your writing. Keep us updated!

But does he eat the burger?!?   Heheh. 

Been through Chattanooga a few times as a child on a road trip.  Even stopped at the Chattanooga "Choo choo" once.  More than 3/4ths of my life ago, I even lived in Tennessee.

How far north are you heading?  At the end of this month I'm heading south to Williamsburg, VA.  A trip made regularly the past few years so pretty well trod territory by this point.  Not a very long drive, as they go.  Two hours if traffic is kind.

In December I'll be taking a train all the way to Florida.  Should be quite an adventure with a handicap wife and two kids.

Just be careful in Florida, some parts aren't that safe. Just hide your wallet, and if you to Disney world or Orlando park I advise not buying any food. I hear it's over the top expensive for low quality food.

Heheh. I suppose I never said where the trip begins or ends. I'm coincidentally headed to Florida right now, from Illinois. I ate the burger, and it tasted like a boot. :\

I spent the hours following that post watching Spirited Away and a few Trigun episodes, so not much else to tell right now. :P

@Gambit Thanks for the compliment! I actually get told that quite often but I can only do it in short bursts. Too bad it doesn't extend to my speech.



Steer clear of Miami. Naples is nice and quiet if you're not there for the amusement parks, and my family owns and rents out a townhouse there -- the very same one I'm headed to now. :)

I once lived in Florida for many years.  Not the fun parts, though.

It's Orlando/DW where we're headed.  Already aware of the food situation but it's part of the adventure.

We drove 23 hours straight to our place. :o

Hey I live in IL too what part do you live in?

Naperville.

Oh nice, I like In Arlington Heights.

Maybe you'll get a chance to see my garden some day... :)

O.o ...
*backs away*

You don't like tomatoes and sweet peppers? D:

And this is the reason I sometimes just might argue against allowing editing of forum posts. :P

You can't have a forum without post editing and the occasional dickery. :3

You're right - the Rule of Humour must not be neglected. ;)

On my way back home I had to pee... really bad. Like, I've been waiting two hours bad. Calling to the front of the shabby but comfortable van, "Can we get to a rest stop? I need to pee". Half an hour, and several requests later, we took an exit and arrived at a gas station. In my rush to the bathroom I noticed, even in the dark of night that many of the gas station's propes wore hoodies despite the still oppressive heat.

This was a very special kind of bathroom. Calling it a bathroom of halves wouldn't be far from the truth. My mother insisted that my father get the key to it as I jumped out of the van, but the lock was a nonissue... Rather, it was the lack thereof. The doorknob under the shiny deadbolt was nonexistent. I managed to pry the door open pulling on the lock guard. It was a small unisex bathroom with the basics, a sink, urinal, and toilet. They were the only clean things in the room. The walls were covered in marker tags, "Panas" being a recurring theme. Only two walls were tagged. "Probably a local gang or something" I thought to myself. My attention turned to the urinal. It was two feet too low and had a massive crack across the bottom. I shuddered to think about what caused it. When the business was done, I surveyed the room some more. There used to be a stall for the toilet, but only a red door remained, ajar. I left the bathroom with a good reason for not washing my hands, or flushing the urinal, or touching the door.

I left just in time to bear witness to two people walking into the woods. In the van, we, perhaps stereotypically, mused their purpose. Humorous remarks about drug deals and other illustrious activities hummed in the van as we pulled out of the ragged parking lot.

Also propes is a word I stole from latin. It means people who are near.

I'm home. <:

I'm glad that you got there okay, and that your bladder didn't bust.

There were a few close calls, though, for sure. :P