"Buzz Buzz" says the neon sign...

So, as promised, I will attempt to briefly update you while on my cross country (2226 miles to be more specific) road-trip.

Day #1:
The morning involved packing the remaining contents of my apartment which mostly consisted of cleaning supplies and random odds 'n ends like bottles of condiments, my American flag, dirty clothes, and the vacuum. I then drove back to the storage facility and using my superior Tetris skills, I managed to shove the last remaining boxes into my already over-stuffed space. Fingers crossed most things will be in one piece come December.

I then left San Diego around 1pm, which was just a bit later than the noon time I was shooting for. But technically I don't HAVE to be anywhere until Friday the 15th, so the "schedule" is pretty loose right now. Although I am beginning to discover that 13 hours a day (by myself) in the car is getting to be just a little too much "Emily time", even for me. So the "schedule" is getting a little less loose each day I'm on the road.

Getting out of Southern California was the ultimate test of my determination to make this road trip happen. I lost count of how many times I asked myself "what was I thinking?" after going less than 120 miles in 3 hours (in a manual transmission). I nearly threw in the towel and bought my cat a first class airline ticket to Indiana. I'm pretty sure that most of I-215 and Riverside county has been "under construction" since the last ice age...

Alas, I finally made it to St. George, Utah where I spent the night in a cozy little motel with a continental breakfast, clean sheets and a bug free bed!

Day #2
Started a little earlier than day #1, but not by much since I forgot about the time change that happened when I entered Utah (d'oh). But I was on the road by mid-morning and racked up some serious mileage today. Okay, not really, but I did get a lot of great pictures of Utah and the Colorado Rockies.

Things started to unravel in the afternoon somewhere between Grand Junction and Vail. I just got antsy and kept stopping to look at the pine trees. I had already listened to two emergency medicine monthly EMRAP podcasts, the news, a couple hours of comedy, and every satellite broadcast of HLN's Forensic Files (twice). And cell phone coverage was spotty, so making prank phone calls wasn't an option.

So... one cup of coffee, a Chipotle dinner, several mountain vista photo stops, and two five hour energy drinks later, I find myself in Northeast Colorado at a cute little motel that could also double as the set of a "Friday the 13th" movie.

The blinking neon "vacancy" sign has that audible buzz that is both creepy and somewhat soothing...in a film-noir kind of way. Betty, the front desk clerk, greeted me in her pajamas, called me "Hon", and asked me twice (between coughing fits) if I was paying "cash or credit?" She then handed me a real old-fashioned room key that I hope hasn't been copied 73 times by the various serial killers that have occupied the room before me...

On that note, I'm off to "sleep" [insert creepy music here].

Until next time...