Road trippin on a hole in a paper heart
*heavy sigh, smile* Wow… Two road trips back to back. How the hell did I survive that? Here are the tales:
To Tennessee-
This one could've been completely avoided with a bus ticket. I throw down for food (with dad's money) and Leah gets gas while Beck drives us to and from. I don't talk much during the trip because 1) I'm disgusted over being impressed into service and 2) Leah keeps Beck awake the whole trip and I wound up just being luggage. It was good to see Matt Gates again, though, and he graciously offered us each a beer when we got there. Beck and I got up, had some pop tarts, said goodbye, then headed right back out. Then, Beck gets a call from dad. We turned around because Leah had TMed him saying 'I'd give anything to be home right now'. I wanted to shoot myself. We get there and I smoke for a bit before begrudgingly relinquishing the front seat to our unexpected passenger for the return trip. Beck missed classes at IPFW for this trip, I could've been job hunting (although it did break my usual boredom), we ran into a huge delay on the way down and a winter storm on the way back, and unnecessary expense of time and money could've all been avoided just with a $50 ticket on a Greyhound bus. Beck and I agree that Leah kind of played us like she does everyone else; 'exploited' was her exact word. If this comes up again, I'm buying a bus ticket for her. It won't, though, because she "bought" Dracula back.
Now, the fun stuff… *grin*
Sunday was prep day for me; I assembled the clothes and other items I was bringing with me to pack and load. I call Leah and ask if I can get the suitcase she used. She immediately gets arrogant and posessive with Dracula when I mention that I'm driving down there. I could've just punched her square in the teeth. The head of steam that gave me really got me moving, though, so it wasn't a total loss. She gets to the farm on 'her time of the month' and is still indignant over me taking Dracula to North Carolina - apparently not feeling the need to inform anyone else that she wants to buy him back that day. So, while I'm avoiding the tension by packing and checking everything, she's with dad and Beck (who somehow agreed to take her back to wherever she's staying) stewing because she can't buy 'her car' back today. Whoop-de-fucking-do. Everyone else finally leaves and I make sure everything's ready to load before getting some sleep - lots of sleep before my 15-hour drive down. Yay. I have my 12-string acoustic, my JK-20, RP200, cd player, cd wallet, extra shoes, my rollerblades, my tools for magick, clothes for two weeks, and about $500 in cash. I stop at the store for snax to eat on the way and to fill up on gas before heading out. Ohio is totally lame; it's flat and unremarkable until just before you cross the river. Then West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina are hilly, mountainous, forested and breathtakingly gorgeous. There were tasty curves, too, making me wish I could ride and had a good cruiser. Not for something that long, mind you. I took breaks every quarter-tank or so for head calls, to help keep me lucid, and stop my ass from aching. …Then I got diverted from my intended path just before Raleigh. I pulled off onto US 421 and began to mildly panic because I neither knew where I was or where I was headed. So I pulled off and started mapping out my detour - thank God I had an atlas handy. Back on my way, I become misguided again and call for more directions. Once I get that nailed down, I head out and make it to my hotel, with a new understanding of what touring musicians go through. I'm there well before my intended arrival, so I have to pay out-of-pocket for an extra night so I can sleep. Out goes another $50. I sleep off the wear and tear of the road, then head back out to check out, then back in. I was pleasantly surprised by getting the room I was just in for the rest of the week. 'Hooda thunk? So, I head back, unpack, and settle in before sailing out to meet Christiana in person for the first time. "Well, here I am! I forgot to gargle, I'm wearing mismatched socks, and I'm so nervous I could wet myself." Not to mention my near total ineptitude with directions thus far. I stop at the gas station across the street to ask how to get where I'm going. I get a road map and eventually get to where I can find my asshole with a mirror. After about a half hour of driving around and talking to her on the phone, I finally find her addition and pick her up. It was weird at first; we didn't really recognize each other except from the pictures we have and weren't sure yet if we were the same people. She took us to an empty parking lot and felt each other out for a little before becoming familiar. It didn't take long to see that everything between us was just as we dreamed; we fell in love all over again. I took her home in time for her guitar lesson and spent the rest of the day elated. We had some lunches together, we went to a park for a while, but the best time we had together was when we were at my hotel, sharing the bed. That's when we knew we had each found the person we were meant to be with. It was hard to leave - neither of us wanted to let go, but I had to come back so I could get my shit together and be ready to make a place to live with her. We didn't do much together because this trip was mainly hashed together at the last minute (and, if not for that last minute, nothing would ever get done), but we both needed it, we both enjoyed it, and it was well worth the wait. My heart has found its home at last and I'll stop at nothing to see that I never leave that place again.
There you have it. Those are my adventures on the United States highway system. I can say this much: 1) I'm not gonna take a job as a trucker because I hate driving. 2) Atlases are livesavers; never leave home without one. And 3) Two years is a long time to know someone without ever seeing them face to face, but genuine beauty and true love don't know time or distance.
*light blush, small chuckle, warm smile* Pictures never did her justice, anyway.
To Tennessee-
This one could've been completely avoided with a bus ticket. I throw down for food (with dad's money) and Leah gets gas while Beck drives us to and from. I don't talk much during the trip because 1) I'm disgusted over being impressed into service and 2) Leah keeps Beck awake the whole trip and I wound up just being luggage. It was good to see Matt Gates again, though, and he graciously offered us each a beer when we got there. Beck and I got up, had some pop tarts, said goodbye, then headed right back out. Then, Beck gets a call from dad. We turned around because Leah had TMed him saying 'I'd give anything to be home right now'. I wanted to shoot myself. We get there and I smoke for a bit before begrudgingly relinquishing the front seat to our unexpected passenger for the return trip. Beck missed classes at IPFW for this trip, I could've been job hunting (although it did break my usual boredom), we ran into a huge delay on the way down and a winter storm on the way back, and unnecessary expense of time and money could've all been avoided just with a $50 ticket on a Greyhound bus. Beck and I agree that Leah kind of played us like she does everyone else; 'exploited' was her exact word. If this comes up again, I'm buying a bus ticket for her. It won't, though, because she "bought" Dracula back.
Now, the fun stuff… *grin*
Sunday was prep day for me; I assembled the clothes and other items I was bringing with me to pack and load. I call Leah and ask if I can get the suitcase she used. She immediately gets arrogant and posessive with Dracula when I mention that I'm driving down there. I could've just punched her square in the teeth. The head of steam that gave me really got me moving, though, so it wasn't a total loss. She gets to the farm on 'her time of the month' and is still indignant over me taking Dracula to North Carolina - apparently not feeling the need to inform anyone else that she wants to buy him back that day. So, while I'm avoiding the tension by packing and checking everything, she's with dad and Beck (who somehow agreed to take her back to wherever she's staying) stewing because she can't buy 'her car' back today. Whoop-de-fucking-do. Everyone else finally leaves and I make sure everything's ready to load before getting some sleep - lots of sleep before my 15-hour drive down. Yay. I have my 12-string acoustic, my JK-20, RP200, cd player, cd wallet, extra shoes, my rollerblades, my tools for magick, clothes for two weeks, and about $500 in cash. I stop at the store for snax to eat on the way and to fill up on gas before heading out. Ohio is totally lame; it's flat and unremarkable until just before you cross the river. Then West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina are hilly, mountainous, forested and breathtakingly gorgeous. There were tasty curves, too, making me wish I could ride and had a good cruiser. Not for something that long, mind you. I took breaks every quarter-tank or so for head calls, to help keep me lucid, and stop my ass from aching. …Then I got diverted from my intended path just before Raleigh. I pulled off onto US 421 and began to mildly panic because I neither knew where I was or where I was headed. So I pulled off and started mapping out my detour - thank God I had an atlas handy. Back on my way, I become misguided again and call for more directions. Once I get that nailed down, I head out and make it to my hotel, with a new understanding of what touring musicians go through. I'm there well before my intended arrival, so I have to pay out-of-pocket for an extra night so I can sleep. Out goes another $50. I sleep off the wear and tear of the road, then head back out to check out, then back in. I was pleasantly surprised by getting the room I was just in for the rest of the week. 'Hooda thunk? So, I head back, unpack, and settle in before sailing out to meet Christiana in person for the first time. "Well, here I am! I forgot to gargle, I'm wearing mismatched socks, and I'm so nervous I could wet myself." Not to mention my near total ineptitude with directions thus far. I stop at the gas station across the street to ask how to get where I'm going. I get a road map and eventually get to where I can find my asshole with a mirror. After about a half hour of driving around and talking to her on the phone, I finally find her addition and pick her up. It was weird at first; we didn't really recognize each other except from the pictures we have and weren't sure yet if we were the same people. She took us to an empty parking lot and felt each other out for a little before becoming familiar. It didn't take long to see that everything between us was just as we dreamed; we fell in love all over again. I took her home in time for her guitar lesson and spent the rest of the day elated. We had some lunches together, we went to a park for a while, but the best time we had together was when we were at my hotel, sharing the bed. That's when we knew we had each found the person we were meant to be with. It was hard to leave - neither of us wanted to let go, but I had to come back so I could get my shit together and be ready to make a place to live with her. We didn't do much together because this trip was mainly hashed together at the last minute (and, if not for that last minute, nothing would ever get done), but we both needed it, we both enjoyed it, and it was well worth the wait. My heart has found its home at last and I'll stop at nothing to see that I never leave that place again.
There you have it. Those are my adventures on the United States highway system. I can say this much: 1) I'm not gonna take a job as a trucker because I hate driving. 2) Atlases are livesavers; never leave home without one. And 3) Two years is a long time to know someone without ever seeing them face to face, but genuine beauty and true love don't know time or distance.
*light blush, small chuckle, warm smile* Pictures never did her justice, anyway.