The End of the Road Trip

[juldea]

Saturday morning was a nice fun sleepy-in morning at Margaret and Ravi's. Especially in the pile of comfort I was sleeping in. Brendan and I woke up and lolled around with Margaret for a while. Then she made pancakes at about noon. They were very good.

Ravi eventually woke up too, and after some debate about what constituted "time to eat brownies and ice cream" (to some, you had to yawn first, and to some others, the brownies and ice cream just had to be there - don't ask for the logic behind it, it won't present itself), it was actually time to eat brownies and ice cream!

After that, I can't really say what we did all afternoon long until about 5. We sat in the living room and were silly. I have to say, I really really enjoy Margaret and Ravi's company. Their dynamic is so great to be around. It's so much love and silliness wrapped up in one big bundle. :) I am glad I got to know them both better!

At one point I got Ravi to take out the camera and take some pictures. He told me he will put them online sometime soon. Come to think of it, I could bug him over AIM right now to do it.

Anyway, Brendan and I left around 5 to go visit his Aunt/Uncle/cousin's house in Lake Forest. On the way there, I finally received a call back from my mud friend Dave. He lives in the LA area (Long Beach) and I had been trying to get ahold of him since the night before. We decided that I would drop Brendan off at his relatives', drive back up to Long Beach and hang out with Dave, pick up Brendan's and my stuff from M&R's, pick up Brendan from his relatives', and set out for the drive home.

Dave was fun to be around as ever. He plays Sylph on 3k, for you 3kers out there. I like him a lot. We messed around in his living room on a few of his family's guitars (I think he said they have 4-5, and a mandolin, and a banjo, and a drum set, and a keyboard) waiting for his brother Keiran (who also used to play on 3k, but I don't remember his mud name) to show up. It got to be around 6:30 and he wasn't there, so we went out to dinner without him.

Dave wanted to take me to this place called Claim Jumper, but the wait there was an hour to an hour and a half. I did get to see the pastry counter, though, and for $50 you could buy a 9-layer cake. It was over a foot tall. You could also buy individual slices, which looked like they'd be one person's whole meal OR dessert for about 6 people.

We tried a few other places, but in Long Beach on a Saturday night there's just no getting around a wait. We ended up at Mimi's Cafe with just a half hour wait. We were seated around 7:30, right next to a large table of 14-year-olds at a birthday party. Whooooo-boy.

I had some yummy penne pasta with spinach, feta, tomatoes, and pine nuts. And delicious spinach-artichoke dip. Dave ended up picking up the tab, which was very nice of him. :)

By that time, we were pretty late. I think I left his house at 9:15 (after talking to his Irish parents for a while - they were really cool!). I drove up to M&R's (they called me, worried, since I said I'd be there at 7:30!), packed the car up, got hugs (for myself and for Brendan), and headed off again for Lake Forest. Showed up around 11, and Brendan and I were able to leave at 11:15ish.

I started off driving home and drove until Barstow. Brendan then took over, and drove for 7 hours!! until the Arizona/New Mexico border. I slept most of that time. I woke up just a little before we got out of Arizona, when Brendan was pulled over by a Arizona Highway patrolman. Brendan was just given a warning, though.

Due to differing things (monitors set up on the side of the road to warn you how fast you're going, driving times, only getting a warning, etc) Brendan and I suspect that my speedometer is a bit off. Maybe it gets more off as you go faster. Certainly it seemed to be about 3mph off around 70mph and more to 5mph off around 80mph. So, hmm. ;)

I drove across New Mexico to Tucumcari, where we had to get gas, and then Brendan drove again to Elk City. I admire his stamina. We had fun with Tiffany and company for a while, had some delicious macaroni and cheese and chocolate pie. Brendan and I continued on at 8, and got to his house at about 9:30-9:45. I was driving. Driving fast. ;)

We unloaded the car completely, vaccuumed it out, repacked my stuff, and I returned home to boxes of computer parts. Hooray!

All in all, the trip put 5,600 miles on my car and cost $410 in gas and certain group food expenditures.

I'd do it again in a minute.

I learned that in doing road trips for the purpose of 'getting away from it all', multiple stops is the best way to go. It makes your whole trip seem longer, and like you've been away from home much more.

I'm glad to be back to my kitties and my bed. :)