On the Road Again

Living 1,000 miles away from “home” has very few advantages, if any. Don’t get me wrong, I love Austin more than any other city on the planet. It’s warm practically year round, has more unique shops than I know what to do with, and the queso flows like water.

But I miss birthdays and important anniversaries, rack up astronomical phone bills and have to rely on Mac and Cheese a la Kevin when I’m feeling under the weather. Sorry baby. I love your signature dish, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to my Mom’s homemade baked potato soup.

Quite possibly the worst part though is major holidays. They mean more to me and my husband than just spending quality time with family. They also mean spending uninterrupted, inescapable, leg crampy time in the car together for 14 hours…
each way.

The end reward of being with family is of course more than worth it, but by the time we hit Chunky, Mississippi, the charm of the small town has officially worn off and we have to talk ourselves out of veering off the road into a ditch to keep things exciting.

We’ve put a few ticks on the old odometer over the years, downed more Big Gulps than I care to admit, and made pit stops in some of the sketchiest bathrooms known to man. Which brings me to the point of this road trip rant. Why do gas stations feel the need to attach the coveted bathroom key to the most obnoxious item they can possibly dig up out back in the junk yard?

I fully admit that I’ve been known to lose keys now and then, but I hardly think the answer is to attach them to my cat so I can find them faster. Here are some of my all time favs that broke up the mind numbing monotony of road noise with a little laughter: a yacht buoy, a hubcap, a license plate and a wooden oar.