Ever wish you could have a friend run an errand for you in order for you to get other stuff done?
Ryan, from the post Tulsa, more than just the Drillers, decided it was more valuable (and helpful) to pay me for the task at hand, than to do it himself.
“Gee, let me think…. Umm sure!”
(That was for all of you Jim Carrey fans out there).
It was my mission to fly north to Bloomington Illinois to pick up his truck that had been serviced and drive it back down to Tulsa Oklahoma.
Besides the trip itself, there really wasn’t any extraordinary events that took place, so here’s my 24 hours in a nutshell.
Ryan dropped me off at the Tulsa international airport for my departure to the snowy city up North. The first flight was on an average sized commercial plane that had 32 rows with 3 seats on each side of the aisle.
The second flight was a bit smaller, but far from the smallest I’ve ever flown on (for one of those death defying, chicken in the runway episodes, see the post: Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight). For those of you who haven’t flown, let me give you a sneak peak at why being vertically challenged is a benefit on these flights.
Coming into land at my final destination, the snow covered grounds made for a pretty picture. What they didn’t make for, was a warm welcome.
The airport was clean and brightly lit with an open layout.
When I walked out of the front doors, a wall of “freezing” hit me square in the face, like an ice monster attacking with no mercy. I took a step outside and immidiently did an about-face and went right back into the airport to wait for my ride. Here’s a shot of the security picking off icicles so they wouldn’t drop on pedestrians.
A quick trade of paperwork put me in Ryan’s truck ready for my 550 mile drive back to his house.
The weather had reported that I would be right in the trail of an “ice vortex”, sounds vicious, right? Luckily for me, the storm relaxed and detoured to the east, leaving me with safe roads and smooth ride.
As the sun dropped behind what seemed to be a never ending highway, I stuck to my goal of getting a few hours on the road before snagging a hotel. Here’s a blurry night shot of St.Louis, home of the Rams and the popular arch. Can you see it on the right?
Turns out on the open road, I completely decompress with the sound of a motor… like a baby after a warm bottle in a rocking chair. As I began to melt into the warm seats, I spotted a simple hotel that was perfect for some shut eye before finishing the route ahead. Not too shabby for a pitstop in the middle of Missouri.
The sunrise was gorgeous but deceiving as it brought light but not much warmth. My solution? I took heating pads that are supposed to go in your shoes and stuck them to my legs and hands. Silly? Brilliant! I was toasty until the heater took action and now it’s time to roll.
I wish I had some incredible snap shots to show you, but it is instead I captured some photos that I assume, some of you have never seen before.
Yes, you can get pulled over for going to slow.
So close!
From the moment he dropped me off at the airport, it was 24 hours later that I pulled into his drive. Safe and sound (me and the truck) we had success! Here’s the vehicle that I had grown to love in my time behind the wheel.
What mission accomplished would be complete without a celebration? We chose a casual walk that lead us to the Valkrie, seen in the post about Tulsa.
Here’s a quick snap shot of me, Ryan and his beautiful girlfriend CJ.
A walk home and a bright good night is how I’ll end this one.
Handstand material for sure!
Her Happy Trails 