The Idiot and the Odyssey

The first 48 hours of June certainly heard about my lame last 48 hours of May and decided to show off. Let me just start at the beginning:
On Wednesday, we drove everybody up to the lake to launch our new boat--four people, four dogs. So we set out in both cars to drive the three hours up the interstate to our destination. About ten minutes from our exit, my son says, "Look, somebody's tag blew off." Somehow I knew immediately whose it was. "Let's catch up to your dad and have a look," I replied. Sure enough, the back of the trailer was bare. So I called car number one, told them to proceed, then set about to drive several miles to the next exit in order to turn back to begin the hunt.

My error became obvious as soon as I took that exit. I realized that I hadn't gone far enough, and that the spot my son indicated was on the approach to that exit, not ON that exit. We drove those miles over again, turned around, and this time went back two exits before leaving the highway. (You have to realize that out here in the vast open spaces, rural exits are about three to five miles apart.) Long sidetrip short, I spotted said tag--luckily at the edge of the highway and fully in the shoulder (thank you, wind and traffic)--retrieved it, and continued on to the lake.

The launch was quick and successful, though holding onto a cabin cruiser while the husband parked the truck and trailer would have been a struggle at best that I was spared by a kindly older man who held onto the boat with me until hubby returned. Thank you kind stranger! So hubby gets in the boat, I shove it away from the boat ramp dock, and off he goes to the slip. All I had to do was get two kids, four dogs, and supplies across a series of narrow docks and onto the boat. Hey, no one drowned. Viva, success!

Fast forward past all the fun and beauty of the sunset and watching the dogs watching the waterfowl...Did you know dogs can get seasick? It was a long night, the details of which I will spare you. Luckily I have good and patient dogs who dutifully alert you to their problems and wait until they are safely on the grass to do their thing. Still, it was a long and fairly sleepless night.

So the next morning there is nothing to do but get these guys back to their own yard for their sake. Long car rides and rocking beds is not a good combination, evidently. So, we make the long drive back home. Then, another appointed round takes us back up the same interstate and back--turning a round trip plan into two round trips, instead. Thank you, dogs! Gas is so cheap now anyway, right? Again, long tale cropped, I drove for about 9 out of the last 24 hours.

Plans, schmans. Who needs 'em?! But that is the most I've driven in one "day" in over two-and-a-half years. You see, I live in a town, a tiny little town where we have tourists, but not traffic. And here I am negotiating five lanes at a time, with a high wind advisory, and near rush-hour traffic. I am proud of myself and I need a shoulder massage, badly.

So what were the firsts here? Well, launched a boat. Slept on a boat...uhm, make that spent the night on a boat. And there's one more (at least) that I'll blog about on Sunday, because I'm the least bit superstitious.

And what did we see on the roadside other than the license plate? A wild turkey, a dead vulture (irony alert!), and a squirrel. Now this was not just any old roadkill squirrel. This squirrel had his right "arm" crossed against his chest, his right "hand" over his heart. Was he pledging something? Did he have a coronary event? Who knows. But my son noticed that the squirrel's left "arm" was outstretched in some manner of salute. It just makes you wonder what he was really up to. Maybe he was yelling "Charge", but never made it to the roadway. Poor thing dropped dead before he got close to vehicle traffic. Whatever it was, I hope he went out with a smile. (We were going too fast to make out an expression.)

I'm not sure what all or any of this means, but I can take a couple of things from the experience:
1) If I ever need to drive in fast ovals repeatedly, I can do it.  2) June's "new thing" is already taken care of. Oh, and in case it didn't come across here, I really did have fun. How sick is that??!!