An actual Hag weekend

Well the weekend is over. Weird to have a weekend at all. Most over the road truckers don’t get weekends. That’s one of the things you give up when you decide to become a trucker… that and all the pot smoking. Oh… and most of the family get-togethers. And only pooping at home… you might as well kiss that goodbye when you first climb into the big truck. But hey it’s not as bad as for priests or anything, and you do get to spend time in lots of different exotic locations so that’s something.

Our exotic weekend get-away location

When we delivered our load on Saturday, we didn’t pick up an empty trailer so we would be able to get around town easier and wouldn’t be stuck going straight to a truck stop. Stace had already been online before we even got to Indiana and googled Outback so we knew where we were going first. Made our way to the other side of town (because no matter where you deliver Outback is always on the other side of town) and had a great meal that night. My steak was especially well cooked. I mean Outback almost always does a really good job, but this steak was superior.

Anyway, we had parked in the lot of a closed down restaurant that was within walking distance just up the street from the Outback and had plenty of room for the tractor. I would think that y’all would realize by now that “walking distance” for me means it was only like 62 yards away. After we ate we were planning to head to the truck stop to sleep, but it was so quiet there that we just tucked in and stayed the night.

We got up around noon on Sunday and I started finishing up our taxes while Stace started her “Oz” marathon. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen “Oz,” the series that was on HBO a few years ago, but if you ever get the chance to see it I highly recommend it. There’s tons of violence, of course, but what with being set in a maximum security prison the violence doesn’t ever feel gratuitous. And the acting is spectacular. I think ”Oz” may be my favorite drama ever. But that’s besides the point… now I’m just rambling.

Early Sunday evening, when I was ready to take a break from the taxes, we decided to try Buffalo Wild Wings which was just down the street for dinner. I have followed their stock for several years, but we had never eaten there. We love buffalo wings and have a recipe at home that Stace got from a friend who lives in Buffalo (NY) where they originated. This recipe that we have is supposed to be the original one that started the whole craze, and I must say our wings that we make at home are without a doubt the best I’ve ever tasted. Because our wings are so very good, I had my doubts about BWW but we were in the mood to try something new. So I went in and ordered a variety of wings. I thought the Honey BBQ, Asian Zing, and Buffalo Hot flavors were all actually pretty good but I LOVED the Caribbean Jerk Wings! I mean honestly! How can I be 43 years old and never have tasted Caribbean Jerk flavor?

I loved those wings so much it made me rethink my ideas about our retirement. I have long been an advocate of moving out of the States when we retire. My two most likely spots have been Mexico and Greece. Both of them because the cost of living is so cheap you can live for a fraction of what it would cost you to live in the States. Mexico has the advantage that you could just drive home if you want to come visit people back in Missouri. But Greece has the advantage that you could quickly take trains to anywhere in Europe. We like Greek food and Mexican food. We can’t speak either language. Both cultures are pretty chauvinistic and homophobic. Both are big into the religion and both are hot climates. But both have air conditioning and both have beaches. It was pretty much a draw between the two in my opinion.

But now I know about Caribbean Jerk type seasoning. So suddenly I’m thinking… they have beaches in the Caribbean, too. And we speak the language… sorta. I like steel drum music. And everyone knows that Jamaica has some of the best pot in the world. Obviously the next step was to start wondering what the cost of living is down there? Decided that I may have to investigate this idea further.

Gosh... who would have thought an abandoned mattress would have so many cool smells to investigate?

Finished the taxes last night, so today Maggie got to get out for a really long romp there at abandoned restaurant/temporary new home. She got to sniff and explore all kinds of things that I tried to not look at too closely. Then some construction workers showed up at the work site next door and every single one of them had to come over and pet her for a long time. I think they might have been Union guys, but I’m not positive.

We never did make it to the truck stop until this afternoon when we stopped to grab a shower before heading over to pick up our load. The load was done early so we headed out a while ago. We didn’t have to leave early, but since we did we will hit Connecticut at a much better time of day. Always an important consideration especially when you’re driving on the east coast. Something could always go wrong and delay us, of course, but you can’t really plan for that.

So right about now I’d say we have about 100 miles down and 5,450 miles to go on this trip… that’s not too bad.