Lawful good.
I am not a speeder.
I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I maintain a speed close enough to the posted signs so as not to get tickets.
I stay in the right lane except when passing and I really don’t like putting my “boot into it” in order to pass a slow-moving vehicle on a two-lane road.
It’s some sort of miracle that I’m not more wiped after a two-day road trip across the plains with only Nicolas and his buddy “French Elephant” to keep me company.
I probably shouldn’t be surprised. As much as he’s been struggling a bit with being here, there, and everywhere as we visit family and friends, Nicolas is still a trooper of a traveler.
Which isn’t to say we didn’t have a few hairy spots. A flash torrential downpour along I-80 was a miserable 10 miles of hazards-on, white knuckle driving hoping that I’d be able to see the vehicles in front of me and that those coming from behind would see me. And while it wasn’t the most technical drive, it was still a long couple of days with enough curves in the foothills to keep things interesting.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad. My backseat co-pilot loudly announced interesting sights like the “rocks for decoration” (the foothills of the Rocky Mountains), “REAL COWS!” and every FedEx truck we passed along the way. As boring as stretches of the route were, there was no way I was going to fall asleep.
And, in the end, we made it safely to the second set of grandparents.
But, as much as I love a road trip, I think this might be the last time we’ll try to do Home Leave like this. By the time we’re headed back to Delhi, we’ll have hit four cities in six weeks. (Which is better than the five cities we had to do last time.) It doesn’t sound bad when I put it that way, but 3- and 4-day stops have left Nicolas and me a little discombobulated. It’ll be nice to have a few weeks at my mom and stepdad’s place to decompress.
For now I’m just happy to be off the road.
