Road Trip #1

Since I have not been allowed to fly since 2005, we have been taking road trips approximately every two years. This trip was late by a year and I really felt how my health had degraded since our last trip. The first three days were rough as I felt I kept forgetting to do something important in my routine and I just couldn't find everything. It took a bit before I turned into a morning machine. I felt much more confident and was able to get up, dressed and out in a very short period of time. Success!

The first night, we arrived to the hotel exhausted after an eleven hour drive. My portable oxygen system has three lights but the green light kept changing to a blinking yellow light then back to green after a while. Not good.

I was awake for several hours through the night. I went online and read that it had to do with not getting enough oxygen to the system. Were the vents blocked? Nope. Then, I pulled up the manual online only to discover that there was a small, black filter and that this could be dirty and causing the problem. I didn't sleep well worrying about not having oxygen for the rest of the trip.

Finally, Michael woke up and cleaned the filter under water. The next night and thereafter, everything was fine for the rest of the trip. But, on day two, the car began to smell hot. We are waiting for the parts to come in on a recall of the wiring harness. Michael worried that it might be causing the smell. But, nothing developed from it and the car was fine for the rest of the trip.

First 48 hours of a 21-day trip, we were dealing with two major problems. This was not how I wanted it to begin.

We just couldn't pass by Winslow, AZ without swinging by that famous corner from the Eagle's song:

Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona 

And such a fine sight to see

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed 

Ford slowing' down to take a look at me.

 We pulled into Amarillo, Texas on day 2 and had a ball at the famous Big Texan. It is where one can take the challenge of eating 72 ounces of meat along with all the sides in an hour. The place was packed but we had fun.

Nor could we pass up New Mexico Green Chilies. Every time we got even close to New Mexico, we searched out those fantastic chili peppers.

Day 3 found us in Oklahoma City with British Don. We were able to see his huge apartment, his favorite restaurants and the famous bars owned by his friends. The visit to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial was very touching. We had a wonderful three day with him.

From Don's we went to get our last stamp on the Bourbon Trail Passports in Louisville. What a gorgeous city. It was the first time we had been there. Clean, lots of building and updating and nice people. After we went to Evan William Distillery, we turned the passports in at the Chamber of Commerce. They awarded us with two bourbon glasses declaring that we had complete the trail then we ordered two t-shirts with the list of the distilleries on the sleeve. Very cool.

Next: From Kentucky to Southern Ohio and beyond.