Tales from the Road- the Cannonball Run

ever since La Taureau and La Cognilia left for ohio on thursday, i've been getting regular updates on their progress (and by "their", i mean La Taureau, her mother, father, and cousin). they've decided to take "the southern route"; across southern california, stopping in flagstaff, arizona on the first night, and making it to just east of albuquerque on the second. they awoke this morning to a frigid 42 degrees fahrenheit, and had La Cognilia bundled to twice her normal size.

to both of our surprise/delight, La Cognilia has taken to the open road quite well. the surprise and delight play into this because she rarely sits in her car seat for any length of time without screaming. not merely crying, mind you, but *screaming*, something she often accompanies with a strained throat sound that is not unlike a noise one would make if they were being strangled. little does La Cognilia know, but her acceptance and embrace of the travel bug only serves to benefit her in the future, as we are a family that intends on taking full advantage of the geographic centrality of the midwest.

La Taureau's father, Pappy, retired a few years ago after driving a truck for 40 years. because of his overwhelming expertise, he is the designated driver of the truck. however, this does not come without a downside; he refuses to drive faster than 60 mph. now, in his defense, this is completely understandable. in all his 40 years behind the wheel, he's never had an accident, no doubt a chief reason being his strict attention to safety and regulations. currently, he is an instructor at a truck driving school, so who are they to complain if he's the slowest thing on the road- to include other vehicles such as 18-wheeler semis twice his size...

La Taureau and her mother, having dealt with this snail's pace for the better part of the first day, made an announcement; they would discuss and decide on a destination at the start of the day, and each vehicle would set out for said destination at their own pace. if one vehicle needed to stop for any reason, they would contact the other vehicle via walkie-talkie or cell phone, and the lead vehicle would convey the designated rest area/restaurant/gas station to the follow vehicle. so far, this arrangement seems to be working out swimmingly. there was one instance, however, when the designated travel plaza had a mirrored twin on the other side of the highway, and it took several minutes to sort out where each vehicle was. but as well as it all seems to be working out, i can't help but to think of the early '80s movie, the cannonball run.

today it's all out for oklahoma city...!