In Which We Start Our Journey

After no shower, no tooth brushing (my toothbrush was already packed, grr!), and precious little sleep Sammy and I rose early on the morning of the 17th. We were packed and out of town by 6:30am.

We made pretty good time, at least while Sammy drove. I drive like a little old lady- but being careful is always good.

On one of our early stops I saw this on the door of my stall

I feel like that's as close to an Elvis sighting as I'm going to get on this trip. But I am looking out for them all the same.

We drove through St. Louis which was beautiful. It had such a cool vibe with the arch and the old buildings. I could just tell that fun stuff was happening. I'd really like to spend some time there. Carlos has friends in that area, so chances are good that we'll get to go.

I spent some time drawing. I spent some time napping. I spent some quality time with my buddy Jimmy Buffett. He soothes me in such an uplifting way. When it started getting dark, I got freaked out a little. I just kept thinking how far I was from home. And what if I don't like this far-away place where we will stay for 3 whole weeks? What if something happens back home? Fret fret fret. Fat lot of good it did to worry when I was already more than 12 hours away. So I put some Buffetty goodness and chilled the hell out.

Driving Sammy's FJ Cruiser was interesting. It has enormous blindspots and weird side mirrors, so it took a lot of getting used to. Plus having the trailer on the back- I felt like a truck driver. I mostly tried to stay in the right lane. It was slower going, but changing lanes often felt like a bad plan.

As we headed further North, the land got flatter. Much flatter. It was strange to be able to see so far into the distance without the familiar punctuation of rolling mountains. Freeing, but a little terrifying as well.

In South Dakota Sammy and I noticed a change of pace. People stopped hurrying. They meander, sometimes aimlessly. Dakota time is similar to Island time, minus the warm breezes and boat drinks. Not having those things makes the slower tempo of life decidedly less tolerable.

Other things were different too. This is a photo of two bikers who have stopped to have a cigarette and stretch their legs at a road block. That's fine.

What is NOT fine is that neither was wearing a helmet- however there is one, unused, on the back of the motorcycle. How brilliant of them to bring one just in case they should need it. But wait? How will they know if they are about to get into a potentially life-threatening accident? If only they could put it on in advance as a preventative measure. I guess there are no helmet laws in South Dakota. Both are wearing bandanas. Why would you wear a bandana, but not a helmet? Really, to each his own. If you want to be a free-spirited dumbass and have the wind in your...bandana, whatever. But don't drive in front of ME! If you crash in front of my huge rig, there is a good chance I will mow over you in spite of my best efforts not to.

Another different thing was that they sell liquor in Wal-Mart in South Dakota. Want proof? Eh? Get it?

You can tell it's Wal-Mart because of the tags. Is it just me, or does selling liquor at Wal-Mart just sound like a bad plan? I've seen the creatures of Wal-Mart. Yeesh.