Ground Rules and Rain Delay

After weeks of building anticipation, the big day finally arrived. True to form, we were both up half the night finishing our packing, downloading music to iPods, and making final checklists. So much for getting a good night’s sleep before starting out bright and early. Ever the optimists, we had scheduled departure time for 7:00 A.M., with me (Suz) taking the first shift. For those of you who don’t know me, I am NOT a morning person. Thus, the morning unfolds: 7:00 A.M.- Start packing car. 7:20 - Realize everything will not fit in car. Reorganize luggage in parking lot. 7:30 - Depart. 7:35 - Stop at Starbucks. 7:42 - Get in car with coffee and breakfast sandwich. Pull out of parking space. MB expresses disbelief at my never having eaten while driving before. 7:43 - Drop breakfast sandwich on car floor.

Being the serious baseball fans that we are, and fully committed to the purpose of this road trip, we established some ground rules early on. Rule #1 states there will be NO non-baseball related stops or side trips. In other words, if it ain’t baseball, we ain’t seein’ it. An hour in (at 9:09, to be exact), MB attempts to justify the Coach outlet store as a baseball-related side trip, claiming “baseball has coaches!” (As I type this, MB still doesn’t see any problem with her argument.) At 10:46 A.M., Suz discovers the wonders of cruise control, “the best invention ever!”

We drove in and out of light rain all day through Arizona and New Mexico. After 800 miles, 12 hours, and 2 pit stops, we finally arrived at our destination in Albuquerque. Our first day on the road was fairly uneventful, save for a heavy downpour on I-40. Kudos to Suz for not driving us off the road. If you’ve never listened to Bill Cosby’s comedy routines, go find one right now. We recommend Himself. Finally, shout outs to Yolanda and Mark for letting us crash at their house on Saturday night and for showing us a good time in ABQ, and to the fabulous folks who thought up cruise control.