Life on the Road

***My sweet new ride and I bonded much over the past two weeks--more than 3,000 ass-on-seat miles, to be semi exact.***

Well, well, I'm finally back in St. Paul--finally only in the sense that I was gone for quite some time.

So let's see, I drove through Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas on the way down to my ultimate destination of Rockport, Texas. On the way back, I went up through Texas and Oklahoma, then through Kansas and into and out of Nebraska, then across and up Iowa back into my current home state of Minnesota. Some facts from my journey:

• It did not rain one drop while I drove.
• During my return trip, the temperature (according to my car) was 110+ for approximately ten hours.
• I slept on one couch and in four beds.
• I learned that if you take two courses of antibiotics, you should take probiotics along with them.
• I saw some homies in St. Lou.
• I watched my cousin Monica get married in Lamar, Missouri.
• I went through Toby Keith's hometown. (I know, I don't care either.)
• I went through Waco, Norman, and Lincoln--all Big 12 towns.
• I was in Nebraska for the first time in my life.
• I was in Norman, Oklahoma for the first time. If only Jamelle Holieway was still OU's quarterback.
• I wept openly when I drove into Kansas, home state of my beloved alma mater KU. Yes, "wept openly" is a bit of a stretch, but it was nice to see Jayhawks speckled across the landscape.
• I determined that Kansas is the cleanest state in the union, all things considered--scenery, road conditions, lack of trash and crap. Actually, the drive south to north through Kansas was gorgeous. Surprised the hell out of me!
• I spent a night not far from KU, in Salina, Kansas. You have not lived until you've slept in Salina, Kansas folks.
• I learned that I-35 south of Dallas is just gnarly. Avoid it, both directions, any time.
• I had a lovely visit with my parents, in Rockport, and swam all night and day.
• I saw the world's largest porch swing. Actually, I didn't really see it--I saw a sign for it, somewhere in Nebraska.
• I was in 90-degree+ weather all of the 12 days and loved every second of it.
• I sang a ton. A TON!
• My Aunt Beverly said, upon seeing a few gray hairs on my head, that I must have bleached my hair, 'cause I'm not old enough to have gray hair. She was very, very serious.
• I spent time with both of my lovely grandmothers.
• And last on this list, and somewhat somberly, I drove through Joplin, Missouri to check out the tornado damage. Unbelievable. Here are a couple low-quality pics I took.

To leave on a happier note, we have had wonderful rain this season here in St. Paul, and I came home to lots of pretty flowers in my yard. All of this stuff I planted over the years, lots of it from seed. So I leave you with a few pics of those, though the quality again sucks--it's so hot and muggy here, so my lens kept fogging up. Tomorrow, I am the fog as I melt on my bike ride to and fro' work.

That's all I got, peeps.