Discoveries along the road

Did you know you can get a 32 ounce refill of soda at Burger King for 3 cents? In a Wendy’s cup, no less.

Okay, so the last time I stopped at a fast food joint since before this summer was 1991, so I’m a bit out of the loop. But geez–it’s been forever since you can type a cent sign off a standard keyboard! I wonder what they would have said if I tried to pay with a credit card.

I did question the sanity of refilling 32 ounces of soda, and how often it’s done by the general public. I drank 64 ounces yesterday, and boy, did it feel like it. Crackling headache through the night, restless sleep and waking up periodically feeling paranoid, yet also a sense of extreme exhaustion. The stuff is addictive, though. I forgot how good it is, even though there is absolutely nothing natural in it. If this is what people’s tastes are used to, it’s no wonder why things like real juices are doctored up with flavorings and more sugar. And if people are ingesting 64 ounces a day, no wonder this country is so stressed.

But I have to say, it did make the drive more tolerable. Or, I’m getting used to the long journey up to the res. It was a quick visit for me this time, just a couple of short visits with my friend in the hospital. Love that man. Need to figure out how to make this work without driving myself nuts. And going broke.

I left the hospital much later than I expected, partly to avoid an incoming storm and partly so I wouldn’t have to drive at night for too long. I forgot the time change added an hour of darkness to my trip. Some day, I will drive through the Medicine Bow area when I can actually see it. For now, for some reason, that part of the road in the dark reminds me of Hawaii, of all places. Just as you start going up the hill going East.

Last night I took I80 to I25 because on the way up I got a ticket on 287 just south of Laramie and didn’t want to drive 65 mph on that road to make amends. Had to laugh at that, because when I hit 25, between the wind and the unfamiliar rutted road, I had to slow down, anyway. My air pressure light keeps coming on and I wasn’t 100% sure if there were high winds causing me to veer or if the roads were bad, or if a tire was going flat. It was too dark to pull over and so I basically zenned out with the feel of my car on the road for twenty miles until I got to the first gas station. It would have been a stupid decision if I did have tire issues, but luckily, I didn’t.

Then there was a bunch of construction on I25. It wasn’t going to start until I was long off the road, but all the warning signs were set up for 55 mph anyway. If I drive 80 mph, the drive takes me about 5 hours. At 65 mph most of the way, it takes 6.

The cop tried to tell me speeding wouldn’t make much a difference in time. Wait until his wife has a baby. And his argument about safety is phooey. Doing 75 on 287 feels much safer than doing it on I25, which is much more crowded and uneven.

Sorry for what I think is another boring blog, but with all the drama in my life, boring is feeling rather nice.