Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Car Trip (07/18/05)
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TITLE: My Own Adventure Race | Previous Challenge Entry
By Michelle Burkhardt
07/25/05 -
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My husband, Paul, is a pilot and was offered a job to fly with a commuter carrier based in California. We were living in Pennsylvania but felt it was an opportunity that he could not pass up. He wisely flew out to California to start his training. See, pilots are smart; he took a plane and later asked me to bring him the car. I was a flight attendant at the time and even though flying was my 1st choice of travel, I was in-love, so, I naively agreed. Not wanting to go alone I asked Scott to go with me. Little did I know; Scott is a typical male with the mentality that a drive from point A to B must be conquered.
The first few hours were fun; we talked, laughed and ate PB and J sandwiches. Since we had a cooler full of food, our only stops were pee breaks, gas and much needed java. Scott did most of the driving while I entertained him with my witty conversations. However, the newness of the trip wore out quickly and by the time we reached Oklahoma, I was so exhausted that I started seeing double. Coffee wasn’t helping because it only caused me to want to stop and relieve myself more. Which was not an option; my once sweet car companion became crazed. I don’t know when the new schedule came into effect but, there was no stopping until the car was running on fumes or our bladders were on the verge of exploding and forget about nourishment, we still had peanut butter and jam to eat! To this day I can’t even look at those sandwiches without uncontrollably shaking.
At one point he told me I needed to drive while he rested. I looked like a granny driving as I took the wheel. I felt that if my face was close enough to the windshield that it would somehow keep me awake. Plus, I needed to listen to something other than music. When I was younger, I played music to help me fall asleep; therefore, any tune would have caused us to end up in a lake. Oh! Wait, we were in Oklahoma; I mean a cotton field. I intently listened to a conversation on the talk radio station I found; when Scott awoke an hour later, he looked over at me as if I had lost a few brain cells. I glared back at him and told him if we didn’t stop and get some real food, I was going to change into Cat Woman and claw his eyes out…Meow!
We stopped at a hamburger joint called Shorty Smalls. I could barely sit up and if it wasn’t for my proper upbringing, I would have lied across the table and used napkins for a pillow. The food arrived and instead of properly thanking God for our blessings, I lovingly stared at my juicy hamburger like it was the last of its kind and sank my teeth into it. Umm!
We left the restaurant and continued on our voyage. Scott will tell you that the trip was a piece of cake and that he could have kept on driving to Alaska if there was a connecting bridge. However, I know the truth! We stopped at a gas station somewhere in New Mexico. He set his stop watch and said, “Go!” He was in such a hurry and a little delirious, that he didn’t realize the coffee that he had just purchased was still sitting on the roof. Another male customer hit his horn several times and frantically pointed up. Without saying a word, Scott reached out the window and grabbed the coffee. The two men exchanged a smile that seemed to communicate the message, “Been there, done that.”
Finally, we safely arrived in Ontario; CA. Paul was very thankful and showed his appreciation by letting us shower before he passed us off to his roommate to bring us to the airport for our flight home. Yes, you read right! We flew home the same day! I am at the word count limit, so, please come back, as Harvey Taylor would say, “for the rest of the story.”
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Good story. God bless ya, littlelight