So i decided not to stay in El Paso.
Instead i drove straight through. Ended up being a 30 hour trip from Austin (departure 11:30a CST) to Sacramento (arrival 3:00p PST, 5:00p CST). Yeah. That was probably a bad idea. But i got to surprise my mom, a lot. Which reminded me of the last time i showed up early in December of 2004, though i showed up 3 days early that time. I wen back to re-read the post…..i’ve changed a lot since then.
Enough of that…
New Mexico
So I drove through New Mexico between 10pm and 1am CST, could have been done faster but there were two stretches where i could only drive 35 mph.
Arizona
I made it past Tuscon without too much trouble. About 30(?) miles outside of Phoenix i saw a sign that said Phoenix bypass road. I should have thought about the fact that at like 5am CST (3am Arizona time) there’s no traffic in the city, but like a fool i decided i’d take the bypass since i could probably keep going 75 the whole way instead o slowing down to 65 through the city. 50 miles down a completely dark road i was scared that i wasn’t going to see I-10 again, and suddenly i found myself faced with the choice between continuing down a road that kept telling me how i was getting closer to San Diego or turn around and give up all the west progress i made for fear that i was drifting further south. There in the dark i decided to seek assurance in God, and that was hard. The worst thing that could have happened to me on that road really wasn’t that bad, I had cell phone reception so anything that could have happened that left me with the ability to talk and dial was utterly solvable. But there in the dark with no signs saying “10″ on them i was freaking out, and prayer was hard, because i could only focus on the fear. Finally, i saw a sign that said some freeway would connect to I-10 in 6 miles. I don’t know if that was answered prayer or just more emphasis as to how difficult i find surrender.
California
So i knew i had been driving a long time when leaving LA, i saw a sign that said Sacramento 295 miles and thought “only 4 more hours of driving”. People who live in Houston or Dallas, you have NO SYMPATHY. I practically thought i was home already when i had 4 hours left.
When i arrived, i jumped onto Jesuit’s campus and rushed to where my mom’s class was hoping she was still there, she wasn’t. Then i headed over to her office, not there. Last, i went out the back exit to the library towards the tech office where she might be. Students aren’t supposed to go out that way, my mom was right there talking opn the cell phone and turned towards the noise to yell at whatever non-faculty member was coming out the door. Then she realized it was me and screamed so loud that George (my boss for the last two summers) came out of his office to see what was wrong. It was all worth it.