I love visiting my fabulous urban family in Wisconsin, but I hate the 7-hour drive. It's not bad usually, because I generally make a game out of it: Fill the tank with gas and see how fast I can go and still make it there on one tank. The bonus is if I can make it without stopping. The better bonus is if I can make it without stopping, still get good gas mileage and still be able to make it back to the gas station when I leave.
This trip was a little iffy.
I started out just as I do, I filled the tank. But I headed home to finish packing (one stop), then went to BK to get lunch (stop two), and then headed on the road. I was running late so I opted out of the brat stop (stop three) and just kept going. Sadly I started 15 minutes late so I was 15 minutes late to WI. I also had to go a bit faster to get there on time, which made my gas mileage suck a little (only 36 this time), and I really pushed it close on the gas left in the tank. I actually hit Zero on my gas-ometer. Scary.
So this morning it was the return trip. I was able to make it to PDQ to get gas, though barely. And the fact I hadn't ran my car all weekend and it was colder than expected, my flat tire light came on which freaked me out. Luckily after running the car to the station and filling up with gas, it was fine (I also checked my tires, just in case you think I'm an idiot and don't do that sort of thing).
But the sucky thing was driving into a headwind - strong headwind - all the way home. I couldn't make it all the way. I had to stop about 2 hours out from home to fill up the tank as I only had 100 miles left on the gas-ometer, but 150 miles left to go. Shoot. And my gas mileage sucked. :(
Oh well. It was worth it. And 7 hours alone with my thoughts is a dangerous thing. But that's a blog for another day.
1 comment:
I've done much driving on my own... books on tape are a life saver! You can get them at your library, or rent them at Cracker Barrel restaurants... I'll never cross Texas without one again.
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