From Indiana to Nevada

With Fibromyalgia I must battle my emotions and make sure to take all of my medicine so nothing gets out of kilter.

1:16 pm (EST) I cannot believe it, we are so lucky…a new sign on the highway, “Road construction - next 5 miles.” We laugh and decide we are not going to even try to make our goal of 400 miles a day.

Tom decided to take Highway 31, to avoid any more parking lots. Then he decided that we would do just fine on the Interstate. And we did.

I must say, I simply must, drivers out here are going crazy! They have lost their minds. I am glad I am not behind the wheel. It is nerve wracking. Oh my goodness, my love is cursing another driver, and another! I have not heard him curse drivers before. He must be really stressed. He simply is not a cussing man! <giggle> Nice to know he is as human as the rest of us. I must find a way to put him at ease.

“I’m so excited. This is going to be a wonderful trip.” I tell him. He smiles and no more cursing. I hope he really is relieved. I know he worries so much about me, and he need not. I have learned how to survive and enjoy myself at the same time.

2:04 pm (EST) We are now in TN, back on the Interstate . And here comes another Welcome Center. More maps and points of interest.

Oh, there is a rest area. Actually it is an Information Center/Rest Stop. I love these centers; they are always staffed with interesting folks.

1:20 pm (EST) Back on the road and headed to Memphis, TN, our goal for the day. We decide with all of the hullabaloo that Memphis is far enough. We are both really tired, physically and mentallyin Nashville, just like it says on the map we picked up I-40 W. I put in a John Michael Montgomery CD.

1:40 pm (EST) It’s so awesome; I wish we could tour a little. We are traveling through Nashville. Oh, it is going by so fast. Perhaps another time; I’ll not complain.

2:55 pm (EST) Wow, this is a much calmer highway. I’m changing CD’s and discover that Tom does not like John Michael Montgomery. Too up tempo for him. Okay, I take it out and replace it with George Strait. I do enjoy my country music.

Uh oh, Tom is yawning. I give him a Rice Krispy Bar to jump-start him again. I turned the music off and he thanked me. I did not complain, although I hate silence. The radio was no use; it goes in and out and Tom only likes talk radio. Well, I learn from it... so I'll not complain.

3:15 pm (EST) A Rest Area where we must stop; nature calls. There are no new maps; however I managed to pick up some interests in and around Memphis. I wish I could drive for Tom, but still he prefers that I not. I accept this.

Don’t misunderstand, I am not anxious to drive; I’m not - I want to climb into the backseat on my pinch-hit bed and sleep. I fear Tom is too sleepy to drive, so I must stay up front with him. Gotta get to Nevada alive! Right now, I’ll settle for Memphis.

Ah, he will feel better now; he is pulling out cheese and crackers to snack on. I love that man!

Traveling, so far, is such a hoot! Tom’s assessment of the other drivers is, to say the least, entertaining. No more cussing, though.

We ate cheese and crackers at the Rest Area. Love the front window sun shade. It is so modern and yet inviting and comforting. (I wish I had written down how it looks. I'll look for the picture in my pics.)

3:53 pm (EST) So far we have accomplished 276 miles on our journey of 1800 miles; sounds for ever to me. Will we really arrive. Will we still be in love? I am determined that the answer to these questions is "yes."

My back pain is much worse. Just sitting - does not make sense, however it is there. I don’t want to let Tom know how much pain I am in. And I won’t unless he says it is my turn to drive. Then I will have no choice but to tell him.

Shucks, Tom is asking how I am doing. So I tell him “I certainly have felt worse.”

He asked me if I wanted to stop. I told him I would really appreciate it.

Then he said, “If it’s not an emergency, I’d like to get through Jackson. It’s about another 30 minutes.” Needless to say, I was taken aback. I’m reminding myself of the stress of driving, and acquiesce. I do not complain!

5:30 pm (EST) We are at a Pilot gas station. What good fortune for us; gas is $4.53 a gallon. I’m just kidding. We are not happy with the price, but we are too low on gas not to get some. Of course, Tom fills up! My frugal mind just cannot wrap my head around this. Oh well, his decision. I do not complain.

I have to stretch. I'm feeling cramped.

Every time Tom gets out of the car, he has to stretch no less than 30 seconds before he can take one step; his arthritis. Poor man.

So I stretch and go in hunt of something to eat. Amazingly, I just realized that the stretch did ease my back pain! Isn't the human body amazing?

We have come 411 miles so far. We are now in Memphis, thankfully. My butt is sore. Can you imagine that? No, don’t. <giggle>

We are looking for a Kroger’s, trying to find a certain food for Don; his only request; yet, no beast like Glier’s Goetta exists in Kroger’s. We have now hit two Kroger’s and no one has heard of it. What’s the matter with these people? It is a southern food, is it not? My momma ate it all the time. So did my Aunt. Perhaps it is only a Covington, KY food. (That’s our home town.)

Since I did not really know what Goetta is, I thought I found a substitute for it; a cornmeal product. So we purchased two rolls of it.

7:40 pm (EST) We are sitting in an O’Charlie’s restaurant. I love their Chicken Teriyaki; at least in Indiana I do. Here in Memphis they have sesame seeds on it, in it. I am very disappointed. Due to the diverticulitis, I am limited on what I can consume.

I decide to have a Chicken Bruschetta with sweet potato fries. I am really hungry. Tom orders baked salmon, baked potato and a salad. It is all good, but way too much for me to eat. Tom helped me some; we took the fries with us.

We are leaving here and finding a motel. My back desperately needs hot water and lying down.

Tom is bone tired; he does not have to tell me. He was up at 7:00 am, finishing his packing and putting things into the car. He does not complain.

Our waitress is Tiffany. She was an excellent server; a wonderful smile. The meal was $27 including a $5 tip. (I am keeping a running tally of our expenses so we can see how much our trip really cost and what we got for our money.)

I’m having such fun! I express this to Tom so he can relax. Tom is not unhappy. He expressed that he’d be happy once we arrived in Nevada.I can relate to that thought. <smile>

I, personally, am dreading the trip home. However, I do not ever express this to anyone, especially Tom.

Once we find a motel (pretty full up here in Memphis) I need to clean out and organize the car.

We have come to this awesome place, Fairview Inn, right next to I-40, and discover our key does not work. “Oh Fiddle.”

Tom goes back down stairs and tells them. They give him another key. It does not work either. Here we are in the hallway with our luggage, exhausted and cannot access our room.(We are not yet complaining.) This time I go down. They give me another key and the receptionist says if this does not work they will give us another room. We are both so on the edge of cranky, look at each other and laugh. It truly was our only option.

The key worked! No organizing; no preamble. I gathered my “special pillows,” my Teddy Bear, threw my clothes on a chair and claimed my bed. Tom pretty much did the same, except he has no Teddy Bear. Hmm, is he being cheated? Nah - he has more pillows than I do.

Only one more task to perform.

10:44 pm (EST) Lights Out!