Do you ever have those days when you get home and you feel about as clean as a port-a-potty?
That was me. Last night. Well, technically this morning.
A long day of traveling will do that for you.
It didn't help that the day before I traveled from Branson, MO -> St. Louis, MO -> Branson, MO, and stopped in Uranus.
(They had a fudge factory! We had to stop. Wouldn't you?)
See. I felt gunky from all of that traveling.
However, I finally made it back to Utah late last night. Hooray! (That's where I currently live.) I was in Missouri for my cousin's wedding.
It was a jam-packed weekend, as most adventurous weekends are.
(Have you ever wondered where the saying "jam-packed"comes from? Is it from the fruit--jelly and jam?)
I'll start from near the end, just to give you a sense of how long I traveled, and why I came back feeling so gross.
Branson, or Ridgedale--which is where I stayed--is something like 4 miles north of the Arkansas border. Yesterday morning, I left the house I was staying at in Ridgedale, drove up to the Smallin Civil War Cave in Ozark, MO, and then went to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic, MO. From there, I would make my way down to Little Rock, AR for my flight west.
Here's a little map to give you an idea of my trip. The red line at the bottom indicates the Missouri-Arkansas border.
That line is important, y'see. There I was, on my way south, just outside of Branson, when a kind Missouri state trooper decided I needed a souvenir from Missouri. He wanted to make sure I had something to remember my trip by.
That's right, folks. I got a ticket.
I will say, he was speedy about it, too! 😄 (My last ticket left me waiting for ages for the trooper to come back. Not that I get tickets often.)
He asked where I was headed, I told him the airport in Little Rock (3 hours away). He followed up by asking what time my flight was. I think that may have helped him be faster about it, OR he's such a pro at giving tickets, because what else is there to do in the middle of nowhere? (Kidding, kidding, Missourians!)
While I sat in my car waiting, I was tidying up a bit. Figured to optimize my time and get ready to return it to the rental car place. In the cup holder, I had an unopened bottle of Dr. Pepper. I have to be in a certain mood for soda, and I definitely wasn't at that point--that's another story, though. I knew that I couldn't take it past airport security, either, but I didn't want it to go to waste. So I had this brilliant idea to offer it to the trooper as "thanks, have a nice day!" (Everyone needs some kindness, right?)
Ok. And I was kind of hoping he'd be nice and let me off with a warning so I could continue on my merry little way. I'd had a lot of bad luck this weekend, so I was hoping for something positive.
...didn't work.
The trooper came back with my ticket, and he explained everything very quickly, and before I could even get a word out to offer the soda, he had already turned and walked away. I wasn't about to shout at him to come back and offer him a soda!
I was left with my unopened soda...and a ticket to pay. Hoo. Ray.
About an hour down the road, I was thinking of that stinkin' soda. It was rattling around in my cup holder, almost taunting me. Fine. I decided I would be able to drink it before I reached the airport.
I grabbed it from the center console, set it between my legs, and began to twist the top.
...then it exploded on me! 😂
It had been jostling around in the cup holder, I knew it and yet I completely forgot! So, instead of hoping to drink the soda in two hours, I got to hope my pants dried in two hours! Haha
It's ok when life doesn't go as you plan. That's what makes it such a wonderful adventure. Learn to laugh through the struggles, and you'll have a lot more fun.
But you can understand why, when I finally got to my apartment, I felt particularly icky. 😄
That was me. Last night. Well, technically this morning.
A long day of traveling will do that for you.
It didn't help that the day before I traveled from Branson, MO -> St. Louis, MO -> Branson, MO, and stopped in Uranus.
(They had a fudge factory! We had to stop. Wouldn't you?)
See. I felt gunky from all of that traveling.
However, I finally made it back to Utah late last night. Hooray! (That's where I currently live.) I was in Missouri for my cousin's wedding.
It was a jam-packed weekend, as most adventurous weekends are.
(Have you ever wondered where the saying "jam-packed"comes from? Is it from the fruit--jelly and jam?)
I'll start from near the end, just to give you a sense of how long I traveled, and why I came back feeling so gross.
Branson, or Ridgedale--which is where I stayed--is something like 4 miles north of the Arkansas border. Yesterday morning, I left the house I was staying at in Ridgedale, drove up to the Smallin Civil War Cave in Ozark, MO, and then went to the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic, MO. From there, I would make my way down to Little Rock, AR for my flight west.
That line is important, y'see. There I was, on my way south, just outside of Branson, when a kind Missouri state trooper decided I needed a souvenir from Missouri. He wanted to make sure I had something to remember my trip by.
That's right, folks. I got a ticket.
I will say, he was speedy about it, too! 😄 (My last ticket left me waiting for ages for the trooper to come back. Not that I get tickets often.)
He asked where I was headed, I told him the airport in Little Rock (3 hours away). He followed up by asking what time my flight was. I think that may have helped him be faster about it, OR he's such a pro at giving tickets, because what else is there to do in the middle of nowhere? (Kidding, kidding, Missourians!)
While I sat in my car waiting, I was tidying up a bit. Figured to optimize my time and get ready to return it to the rental car place. In the cup holder, I had an unopened bottle of Dr. Pepper. I have to be in a certain mood for soda, and I definitely wasn't at that point--that's another story, though. I knew that I couldn't take it past airport security, either, but I didn't want it to go to waste. So I had this brilliant idea to offer it to the trooper as "thanks, have a nice day!" (Everyone needs some kindness, right?)
Ok. And I was kind of hoping he'd be nice and let me off with a warning so I could continue on my merry little way. I'd had a lot of bad luck this weekend, so I was hoping for something positive.
...didn't work.
The trooper came back with my ticket, and he explained everything very quickly, and before I could even get a word out to offer the soda, he had already turned and walked away. I wasn't about to shout at him to come back and offer him a soda!
I was left with my unopened soda...and a ticket to pay. Hoo. Ray.
About an hour down the road, I was thinking of that stinkin' soda. It was rattling around in my cup holder, almost taunting me. Fine. I decided I would be able to drink it before I reached the airport.
I grabbed it from the center console, set it between my legs, and began to twist the top.
...then it exploded on me! 😂
It had been jostling around in the cup holder, I knew it and yet I completely forgot! So, instead of hoping to drink the soda in two hours, I got to hope my pants dried in two hours! Haha
It's ok when life doesn't go as you plan. That's what makes it such a wonderful adventure. Learn to laugh through the struggles, and you'll have a lot more fun.
But you can understand why, when I finally got to my apartment, I felt particularly icky. 😄
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