Okay, one more word on the messed up streets here. 7th St. W and 7th St. E are not actually the same street on different ends. One is in the west part of the city, and the other is in the east. So if you travel down one, thinking that eventually you will get to the other, you would be sadly mistaken.
I had dinner last night in the Space Alien Bar and Grill. Not bad, absolutely chock full of kitsch and fake aliens, but otherwise kind of like TGI Fridays. All flair, little emphasis on the food. Everything on the menu had a cutesy outer space name, like Asteroid Onion Blossoms, and Rocket Fuel Taco Burger. But it was the same food you'd find at Chili's, or any other chain.
This morning I found out how easy it is to find heaven on the road. I had stopped for a toilet and a Mello-Yellow (another thing not easily found in California) (the mellow-yellow, not the toilet) at a truck stop, and found that if you bought gas, you got a free shower. Allelluiah! I was going on 5 days without a real shower, and I don't care who you are, that's a little too long. Earlier that morning I had found myself dreaming up ways to slip into the travel-lodge that I was sleeping outside of. My finalized plan was to wait until someone exited the side door, slip in, then wait until someone left their room to check out. Timing my approach very carefully, I would slip the door stop that Patty so helpfully supplied into the door just after its rightful resident turned his back, and before the door closed completely. Keep walking, then zip back after said resident had left the floor, shower and be out of there before housekeeping even had a clue.
A little risky. And not totally legal, I believe. So thank god for truck stops. And for the nice man that gave me the key, even though I only had enough space in my tank to put in about 2 and 1/2 gallons (at $1.46, I would like to note. I get so giddy when I see prices like that, I have to stop and fill up. End result: my gas tank is never less than 3/4 full). Are gas prices going down all over the country? Or am I really in Road Trip Heaven? I mean, I started this trip out at about $2.08, and I expected it to go down a bit, but wow!
I have been asked to say a bit about my mascot for this trip. His name is Stripes. He is the pink spotted kitty you will be seeing quite often, as I have no interest in taking pictures of myself 4 days after my last shower. That's about it. He is my buddy. I talk to him. Not as much as I talk to Tach, but more than I talk to anyone actually breathing.
Only 1 more hour until the Fargo extravaganza!
Nope - gas prices are not going down... you are definaltey in HEAVEN !!!
Posted by: Ruth in Houston | September 26, 2003 at 07:44 AM
Beth...I'm picturing you at the edge of town..standing next to your truck...holding a sign.."WILL WORK FOR SHOWER"...yikes!
Thank goodness you found out about TRUCK STOP SHOWERS...who knew??? You are discovering all the >>secrets of the road<<< that we conservative types obliviously pass, on the highway, rushing to the next bland Holiday Inn.
It's been fun watching your travels and travails..Thanks!
Posted by: patty | September 26, 2003 at 03:41 PM