Man Trip Update

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by admin

IT’S WEDNESDAY! *cue choir of annoying people saying, “Thank you Captain Obvious!”

I know you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seat, just waiting for an update on Man Trip ’08. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, please see yesterday’s post. Or feel free to read on…completely confused. That’s probably what I would do if I were you.

I have to eat my words today as yesterday I stated that I didn’t believe that MT ’08 would actually begin at the scheduled time. I obviously had no idea how serious T was about his well planned itinerary. The guys left this morning at 2:50 a.m. That was a full ten minutes ahead of schedule! I don’t remember them leaving, but then again at 3:00 a.m. I’m usually in a comatose sleep state. And T knows NOT to wake me unless something exciting is happening. Like the neighbors up above us fighting. I hate to miss a good fight.

So off they went. They were heading to Phoenix, AZ. We have a pal who lives in Phoenix. Arizona…no big deal…it’s only one state away. They have finally realized just how ridiculously large Texas is. I-10 was the highway from Houston to Phoenix. Talk about a long ass boring drive. Oh wait….I forgot. I’m not actually on this trip. I’m assuming that it was a long ass, boring drive. Last night, Big A called me and gave me the run down of day one. It’s not quite as exciting as I had hoped. I’ll present you the information in a hybrid bulleted/list/outline for your viewing pleasure. You’re welcome.

Number of Fill-ups/Stops: 5
Vehicle: 2008 Ford Escape
Approximate Vehicle Weight: A Lot

MAN TRIP ’08 (DAY 1:August, 12th)

First stop=Houston, TX (2:52 a.m.)
- Chevron
- Cost=$3.79 per gallon
- Total Fuel Cost=$18.01
- Interesting Fact: There were Mexicans cleaning the parking lot. Big A & T were surprised at how early Mexicans started work. Big A felt bad for referring to the workers as Mexicans.
- Mood: Tired as Big A has never been awake that early in the morning.
Second Stop=Junction, TX (7:07 a.m.)
- Shell
- Cost=$3.95 per gallon
- Total Fuel Cost=$55.20
- Miles Travelled since last stop: 303.6
- Average Miles Per Gallon=21
- Interesting Fact: The guys thought they may run out of gas before reaching this gas station. They envisioned scenes from The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn.
- Mood: Scared and wondering how one state can be so ungodly large.
Third Stop=Fort Stockton, TX (9:37 a.m.)
- Chevron
- Cost=$3.99 per gallon
- Total Fuel Cost=$42.54
- Miles Travelled since last stop: 199
- Average Miles Per Gallon=20.8
- Interesting Fact: There was a creepy bum hanging out at the pay phone. Big A attempted to snap a pic but was quickly spotted by the bum. There had been sightings of cacti, dirt, and other vehicles every once in a while.
- Mood: Dazed…glazed over. In disbelief that they were still in Texas.
Fourth Stop=El Paso, TX (12:04 p.m.)
- Shell
- Cost=$3.76 per gallon
- Total Fuel Cost=$ (N/A)
- Miles Travelled since last stop: 251.8
- Average Miles Per Gallon: 21.5
- Interesting Fact: None, but noticed billboards for a possibly exciting tourist attraction called, The Thing.
- Mood: Hopeful
Fifth Stop=Somewhere in Arizona (2:46 p.m.)
- Shell
- Cost=$ Unknown
- Total Fuel Cost=$40.00 approx.
- Miles Travelled since last stop: 241.9
- Average Miles Per Gallon: 23.9 (T credited the decent gas mileage to the unbelievably flat stretch of highway)
- Interesting Fact: They had in fact decided to stop at The Thing which was not only a tourist attraction, but a Shell gas station as well. Guys were excited for their first real touristy/roadside attraction. After filling the vehicle and weeing they checked out The Thing. Cost to see The Thing=$1.00/person. Conclusion: More disappointing then finding your favorite rabbit stuffed into your neighbors freezer. Deemed a rip off and a case of extreme mis-advertisement.
  - Please note that they had no idea what city they were in so don’t ask me where The Thing is. No one knows.
- Mood: Angry and obviously delirious as they forgot to record valuable tracking information like fuel cost and actual physical location.
Sixth Stop=Phoenix, Arizona (Chris’ House)
- Visit included dinner at an undisclosed locale.
- T and Big A were pleased as Chris paid for dinner. Bonus!
- Proceeded to find a hotel that wasn’t creepy.
- Mood: Full (is that a mood?)
Final Stop of Day 1=Wickenburg, Arizona (10:00 p.m.)
- Spending the night at Best Western hotel
- Cost=$74.99 per night
- Mood: Tired as hell with a massive sense of accomplishment
Total Travel Time=Approx. 20 hours
Miles Traveled=1280!

Random Items of Interest:

-T and Big A’s first major accomplishment was actually crossing into another state! Victory occurred at approximately 1:19 p.m. Central Time. It was actually 12:19 p.m. in New Mexico (Mountain Time). They were slightly discouraged that the landscape of New Mexico looked strangely similar to that of West Texas.

-T and Big A also ran into some issues with radio stations…or lack thereof. They didn’t realize how desolate West Texas actually was. It was reported that between Sequoia and Junction, TX they were only able to locate 1 radio station. This prompted them to call J (that’s me) and complain that it was all her fault that they didn’t have any radio stations. Apparently a few months earlier J had encouraged T not to register for another year of satellite radio. J had suggested this to T as T will be spending much of the next year out of the country and unable to actually utilize the satellite radio. T explained that it was only $12.00 a month. J had none of it and stood her ground. T and Big A subsequently had to partake in conversation. Also received a report that at mile marker 122 they were finally able to locate a few stations, but unfortunately unable to locate any radio stations in English. T and Big A attempted to work on their Espanol. Eventually reached an area where an English station was located. Unfortunately it was Talk Radio. Learned an interesting fact while suffering through the talk radio: Children with poor hand/eye coordination are more likely to be fat. Both T and Big A took this fact to justify the benefits of playing video games at a young age.

-They also spotted one of the longest trains they had ever seen. They measure it on their odometer and the train was found to be 1.4 miles long.

-Big A was responsible for taking pictures as he knows that J is crazy about pictures and needs them for her blog. Finally figured out how to turn camera on.

-The first bilboard for The Thing was spotted 255 miles before the actual location. Were expecting more.

-Were excited to find out that the posted speed limit in most of West Texas is 80 mph. Determined that it would be best to travel 9-10 miles over the posted speed limit. Thankful that they had packed binoculours so that the passenger could cop spot.

-Witnessed a semi truck tire blow out. Truck came to a halt directly in front of vehicle. Big A was driving and had to slam on brakes. Were afraid for lives.

-Came across two semi trucks that tried to run them off the road. Determined that the drivers of these trucks were driving tired and unable to drive safely. Sped up to quickly pass up the sleepy semis.

-Thankful that they had functioning air conditioning in vehicle as it was hotter than balls outside:

Tuscon, AZ = 105 degrees
Phoenix, AZ = 109 degrees

-Called their Mommy to wish her a happy birthday! Happy Birthday Dawn!

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