Road Dog

This weekend we drove from Austin, TX to Llano, TX to Red River, NM. Yep, that's a long way -- roughly 900 miles...and 808 of those we drove in one night/day.

That's the kind of drive that makes your stomach knot up every time you think about it, so you don't think about it. Because you know it's going to be hellish and you're going to be exhausted scared and annoyed and worried. So you happily live your life, ignoring the impending dread, because you know it's one of those things you just have to get through.

As far as overnight drives go, this one was not so bad. Good, by overnight drive standards. Lisel slept good, Willow slept good enough, which meant I slept just good enough to take over for Dave after breakfast. And I drove well enough that Dave was able to get some recovery sleep. And Vanessa slept good enough to help out at breakfast. And we all were rested enough to have a relatively breakdown free time in Red River. So, yeah, successful overnight drive.

The winners of the hearty traveler awards go to Lisel and Willow, who handled everything better than the adults. That seems to be pretty usual our here. When Dave an I are sniping and snapping at each other because we don't know what else to do in our soul-muddlingly exhausted states, the kids are usually acting calmer, kinder and more fun than than do even at home.

Someone has to rise to the occasion I guess.

Anyway, the best thing about this tour, besides the complete lack of remaining all nights drives (score!) is the fact that Ray brought Emmylou on the road. She's the corgi that he shares with Michelle Valles, and like our kids, she's a hell of a traveler.

Dogs and kids are like the two biggest taboos in both show business and the road. Out here they're seen as buzz kills, which I guess is true as most of road life consists of running away from the responsibilities of real life. But you know what's also missing out here? Snuggly, cuddly love. And dogs and kids bring the snuggle and the cuddle and the love. I'm interested to see what he combined canine/child love force is.

I think it's going to be a good tour.