August 2005

Quaker Steak & Lube.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

A fabulous restaurant in beautiful Erie, Pa.

Traffic Jam.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Sitting in traffic on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio.

New Experiences.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Steak ‘n Shake. OH MY GOD! A new wonderous experience in the fast food arena!

Well after driving for 12 hours last night, with only a 1/2 hour catnap in a Rest Area in rural Ohio, I knocked on Earl’s hotel room door in Indianapolis this morning at 4:30 a.m. He bounded out of bed to let me in, where I shucked my clothes off and jumped into bed, ready for some sleep.

Last night’s drive was uneventful. I was operating on a mix of elation and sugar… I was excited about seeing Earl and I opted for Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts with a Pepsi chaser instead of the Slim-Jims I was talking about yesterday.

Earl went about his business responsibilities while I slept. I got up around noon, got cleaned up and drove around Greater Indianapolis. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of the Central Time Zone. I know it sounds very strange, but my body just feels more at ease here. I don’t know why, as it’s simply us human’s assigning a value to the current moment of the day, but I just feel better in the Central Time Zone. Perhaps I’m crazy.

While I was driving around, I spotted a Chick-Fil-a and leaped at the opportunity for a “proper lunch” of a Chicken Club Sandwich, waffle fries and fresh brewed Iced Tea. Chick-Fil-A is definitely the créme de la créme of the fast food set.

Mother Nature treated the area to a typical Midwestern thunderstorm. Lots of wind and rain, punctuated with some thunder and lightning. The flat topography lends itself to easy storm chasing, and I jumped around on the 465 in Jeep while trying to keep up with the fun.

I then headed back to the hotel as Earl was expected back. We changed our clothes and headed to downtown Indianapolis. This is a lovely city! For some reason it reminds me of Oklahoma City a little bit, with the typical central U.S. pacing. We took a stroll around the Circle Centre mall downtown, then walked the streets a little bit, taking in the sites. It started heating up a little bit so we hit the Jeep and drove around a bit and then went to the local Texas Roadhouse for supper. Great food and conversation. And Earl dumped iced tea in my lap right before that picture of me holding the beer was taken. It didn’t ice my spirits at all, though.

All in all my first trip to Indianapolis has been wonderful. I’m glad I had the opportunity to get out here and join Earl on a business jaunt.

Tomorrow we start heading home, probably staying somewhere in Ohio.

After trying to skirt the questions Earl has been asking me the past 24 hours, I finally had to give in and tell him about the surprise I was planning.

He’s in Indianapolis for training and was planning on coming home Friday morning. After he was settled in Indy, he realized that there was an earlier flight that was leaving Thursday afternoon and though it would cost more money, he was going to change his flight home. I advised that flying through Chicago sucks. I told him he’d end up driving home from the airport in the middle of the night. He responded with a “So what?!?” I ended up telling him that I had a present arriving for him on Thursday and he’d have to stay until Friday to enjoy it.
yond That present would be me.

After I finish this blog entry, I’m packing up the PowerBook, packing up Tom and loading up the Jeep for an all night ride to Indianapolis, after I drop Tom off at his Gram’s. It’s been a very long time since I’ve gone on a road trip like this, all night long, but I am psyched beyond belief. Not only am I going to be driving uncharted territory, but I’m getting to meet up with Earl so that we can do a little midwest Jeep tour this weekend!