My trip to Denver Part 2

After leaving Rocky Mount I headed back home and began packing and getting everything in order for me to leave. Sadly things are still not in order. I left about 3 pm on a Tuesday. Heading west. My goal was to go I40, I24, I57, and then finally I70 for a long time.

I left Brown Summit, with my next stop already planned in Hickory, NC. I had some paperwork to drop off to my ex-wife, get it notarized, and all that fun stuff. She showed up with her new significant other because you know that's not awkward. It was quite uneventful, except for her girlfriend asking me to call her when I made it to Colorado.

Taking off from Hickory I hit the road and hard. My next stop was Knoxville, TN for fuel. While there I grabbed a burger to go from Ruby Tuesday that made me incredibly sick but I kept driving with the occasional stop to throw up. I had to be in Kansas City at 1 pm the next day. This meant I was driving all night, no big deal for me as I have been used to driving at night for the last few years.

The sun began to set when I was hitting Nashville, TN. I flew the Music City without any trouble. In less than a hundred miles I was in Kentucky. I was starting to get sleepy. I pulled into a truck stop a couple miles past the Tennessee and Kentucky border. I should mention I used to live in this area as a kid. My dad was stationed at Fort Campbell, KY. I've been through there a couple times as an adult, but it was late and no time for sight seeing.

I slept in my Jeep for a few hours, when I was packing I made sure to keep the space behind the drivers seat clear so I could lean it back to sleep. I want to say it was about 1 am Eastern when I finally got back up. I drove all the way to I57 in Illinois where I stopped for fuel again. I should have filled up in Kentucky, I forgot about how high the fuel tax is in Illinois. I only put in enough to get me to Missouri, so I could fill up there at a cheaper price.

I hit St Louis, while making a few jokes about East St Louis to myself, about 6 am local time I think. Don't hold me to that, traffic sucked I do remember that. And the ex-girlfriend called, I think the trip is a little blurry, after she called my ex-wife called. First thing I said was, "What is this? The morning of Girls I used to fuck calling me?" I got bitched at for the next ten minutes about how she wasn't just a girl I used to fuck. I didn't argue.

Once out of St Louis and the bitch storm that ensued I picked up speed across Missouri. It was there that I discovered what a cool state Missouri is. I stop at the gas station/Jack in the Box. I haven't had Jack in the Box in years. I am still not sure what is in their beef tacos or even if its really meat but I always order it. But at this gas station I made my discovery, they sell liquor in them. Not a large selection but enough to get the job done.

From there it wasn't long before I was in Kansas City. I got to see how fucked up my social life would be from this schedule. I would be working Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Well here is how it would go, I will leave Wednesday or Saturday at 5:40 pm and drive to Stuart, IA stay there fifteen hours and drive back. For those that have never been to Stuart, IA it has a population of 1,722. My choices for food are McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway. To say the least I was not happy.

I had coordinated with some people in Kansas City to go and hang with them while I was there. I think we were supposed to meet at 7 pm. I was there around 4 pm, luckily we were meeting in a bar. I ended up reading a book at a bar and drinking a couple beers over the next few hours. I quickly spotted the people I was meeting with at around 6 pm. Nice they showed up early.

Now for my loved ones this part gets a little more interesting, feel free to skip it if you want. I will mark the end in red.

For those paying attention it is now Wednesday night, the last time I had a shower was a little over 24 hours ago. Now I'm not a scumbag, I spent my last weekend in North Carolina with my ex-girlfriend I could not go and hook with someone less than a week later. But I was looking for a bed and a shower. Mainly a shower. I could sleep on the floor at this point.

We started trail, if you don't know what I mean by that please go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hash_house_harriers It was quite an easy trail, mainly just walking around a few blocks and ending up at another bar. Because it was an easy trail I was wearing my kilt. I quickly found out the single women, there was one. And I could tell immediately that it wasn't happening.

Ending up at another bar we went out back for circle (see wiki). Before circle began a woman came up to me who will remain anonymous. I have no idea what I said, if anything, she lifted her kilt in front of me. All I could think to say was, "That's nice."

During circle things began to go a little slow, so I started speaking up. Bad idea, I ended up drinking about six beers in the hour we were there. Going back to the bar, I saw that my plan was not working so I was talking to a girl at the bar. Supposedly from witnesses I was working really hard. I was hammered and really don't remember. Like I said my goals in life at this point was a shower, and somewhere other than my Jeep to sleep. I didn't succeed and ended up staying in my Jeep again.

Waking up at about 4 am, I was wide awake, I had no idea of the neighborhood I was in. I looked around for a long time trying to get a bearing on where I was. Finally feeling like no one was watching I get out of my jeep and duck behind a building to go pee. I scurry back to the Jeep and lock the doors. I ended up finding a number in my hat. I threw it away, I don't think I've said it before but still being in love with your ex-girlfriend buts a damper on my future actions.

I end up driving to Topeka, where I crashed for another four hours. I get up to see I will be in Colorado Springs a few hours earlier than what I need to be. The trip to Colorado Springs is about as memorable as driving across Kansas can be. I was about 60 miles from the border when I get a call from my ex-wife, shes bitching at me because I haven't called in a few days. Not really sure why I am supposed to call her all the time on my trip out.

I stop in Limon, CO to grab a shower. The trip from Limon to Colorado Springs seemed to take forever, or it was the altitude messing with my head. I get to Colorado Springs and a place called This Is It Lounge. I park my Jeep, walk inside and check the time. I got a few hours to go, glad I brought my book and I'm in a bar.