From Chicago to Florida

My actual road trip only took me about 24 hours. However, the preparation for my road trip took much longer. For those that know me pretty well, I'm a perpetual procrastinator that moves awfully slowly (together they make for a horrible combination).

On a rainy Monday, after picking up my truck and starting to load it, my friend Josh from college came by to give me a hand. Once that happened, the truck was loaded much more quickly! The evening included dinner and drinks at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Next day, hit the road at a ripe and early 11:30am after lunch at Portillo's (a fitting last meal at a Chicago favorite). Driving a 16 foot truck with a car carrier with no cruise control is really not that fun. Every time I pass or get passed by a large vehicle, my truck and carrier like to drift and sway. Also, late night radio is primarily the Righteous Brothers (really not that fun to listen to), lots of Journey (ok for a short while), Candlebox (do you even remember them), and all around crap! I needed to stop for gas so I decided to grab some dinner. Options were limited at this particular exit so I went for the Taco Bell. What was I thinking? TB is definitely bad Karma, but I went with the "Fresca" options, which in TB speak is "healthy." Not so sure about that. I asked the lady if there were any coffee shops around to which she replied, "The Speedway down the road has really great coffee!" Now, I'm not sure if taking advice from the Taco Bell lady or going to the Taco Bell was worse, but Speedway coffee is really not that good. After using a few of those International Delight "creamers," I was back on the road with said crap coffee in hand. I talked to a lot of people on the phone, but found as it got really late in the night, no one is up anymore. So I decided to call my 24 hour credit card company phone line and discuss some business that turned into a friendly conversation. How fun! Thanks credit card lady! After driving a solid 16 hours and about a 1000 miles and passing 239 Waffle Houses, I decided to stop at a rest area around Tifton, GA for a brief nap. Now for one of my favorite parts. I decided to nap on the couch in the back of my truck in the rest area. Yes, a little bootleg but quite comfortable. Three hours and a face wash later, I was back on the road. The rest of the trip was rather uneventful, but I will tell you this--avoid all the "Welcome Centers" in Florida unless they are the ones at the border of the state. Turns out the other "WC" are pushes for Orlando that resemble somewhat of a scam! The free orange juice just ain't worth it! I rolled in Port Charlotte around 3 or so, parked my vehicle, said hello to my parents, ate some food, then took a long needed nap! I'm here!