As it got dark the previous evening, I tried unsuccessfully to get the TV to work. Most likely Mom had cancelled the satellite service already. Surprisingly, there was absolutely nothing in the house to read (very rare for Mom).
With nothing else to do, I went to bed embarrassingly early. As I was getting ready to sleep, I noticed the blanket I had chosen was one Mom was still making and it had pins in it. No wonder I had issues sleeping the previous night!
With everything going on I fell asleep relatively quickly, consequently getting up really early.
I had a list of final stuff to clean and take care of - appropriately enough written on a napkin. Getting everything done allowed me a chance to do a few final walkthroughs. I found a few more things to take care of, but overall the place looked quite good. All this took a little bit of time, still allowing me to leave at around 3:30 AM.
The first part of the trip was all two-lane roads. I probably would have enjoyed this, but it was very dark and there were some extremely foggy places making it even worse. But I had the overtravelled Florida roads to myself. My GPS was set to avoid tolls, and that probably added a few minutes; a negligible amount but worth it when I'm biologically preprogrammed to avoid tolls.
I had a few children's books (don't judge) to listen to on a USB stick - thankfully getting that to work on the Hyundai audio system was really easy. Actually, the audio system on that SUV was really well thought out. The Librivox reader for The Velveteen Rabbit had a sing-songy voice which didn't help staying alert so early in the morning.
Once on the interstate, I motored along pensively. I listened to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels for the rest of the trip. My attention to it waned through the day - Part 1 is the only part I enjoyed. Part 4 was tedious - yahoo.
I didn't know how far I was going to get, and with a few stressful days without enough sleep behind me, I did get a bit tired a few times. Whenever fatigue set in I stopped for a rest - getting gas or something to eat. At one stop I got a craving for Starburst candy. I really don't even like Starbursts! But at least they were "favorite reds."
The day started out in the upper 60's. As I traveled north, the temperatures slowly dropped. Somewhere north of Atlanta, it started raining and this continued for most of the rest of the trip. The amount of rain varied from a light mist to very heavy rain. I may have pushed it a bit on the speed in a few of the rainy sections, but damnit people - keep right except to pass! Morons...
I must say that the Hyundai Tucson was really growing on me. I've always been a little prejudiced against Korean cars - having seen what they were in the 90's. But the Tucson was comfortable, quick enough, had good capacity with tolerable fuel economy and all the parts worked together well. I'm not going to rush out and buy one, but the Tucson has made me come around on Korea.
On one of my rest stops I was trying to decide if I was going to stop soon, or just go all the way home. I got a hamburger and cup of coffee. Then I proceeded to spill my burger all over myself and my coffee lid was loose. I want to be home. Shortly after this stop, the rain started to turn to snow and I started to see some cars with lots of snow on them. I was still wearing shorts from my start in Florida, and this was not too pleasant.
I thought about going straight home so that I didn't have to deal with the rental car, etc. but the thought of having to go back to the airport the following day was too heinous.
I parked outside of the rental car gate and shuttled over to long term parking. I got my truck out of hock and drove back to the Hyundai. It took a few minutes to transfer everything into my truck - that Tucson holds more than I thought it did.
Returning the rental car and walking back to my truck, I was on the final leg home for one of the longer drives I've done in a long time.
Back at home, I left most stuff in the truck to be dealt with later.
The past few days were crazy hectic, but I was glad to be able to do this (and even more glad it was done).
I thought more about all the stuff I have at home that I really never touch. I thought about stuff that has been in a box since I moved over seven years previous. I should really do some purging of my own, of my own life.
I'm glad that companies like 1-800-got-junk exist, but the fact that they do and they are a large nationwide franchise says something distressing. The fact that I had to call them is something distasteful.
So I'll end with that banal platitude again: More stuff tends to clutter life, not improve it. And I'll say it again and again until it become a mantra: More stuff tents to clutter life, not improve it.
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