Disaster has struck. That chicken I ate yesterday may end up being my undoing. I have been trying to stay healthy over these past couple of months, but my desire to make it through this stretch of driving has clouded my judgement. Yesterday I ordered my food in LA and let it sit in the car all day as I continued to drive stopping only for gas and brief bathroom breaks. I ate nothing but fruits and nuts in the car all day until I finally ate the chicken shawarma sandwich that had been sitting on the passenger seat for over eight hours. Before you say anything, I know, I am an idiot.
I tried to finish the drive from Roseburg, Oregon to Seattle (which should have taken no longer than six hours), but I was forced to pull into a rest stop and lie down. I took a 45 minutes nap after which I woke up and immediately opened the driver's side door and began vomiting. I had only made it one hour into the drive and it looked like I was not going to make it. I called my father (who is a physician) to ask if there was any magic pill I could take to get me back on track. Sadly the only thing that was going to get me through this was some Pepto-Bismol and rest. One of those I could do and one was not an option. I drove to the next exit and picked up some of that lovely pink medicine and chugged it before refocusing on the road.
What I listened to in the car:
Tigers/Royals game
I Seem Fun: The Diary of Jen Kirkman
You Made it Weird – Harris Wittels
The Indoor Kids
The JV Club – Tig Notaro
In addition to feeling incredibly sick, I was driving through some mountainous terrain where exits with civilization were few and far between. It made for some beautiful scenery, but my stomach was none too pleased. As I approached Portland, my GPS began yelling at me that there was a two hour delay on my fastest route. I attempted to find a detour, but even that included a 90 minute delay. Once again I gave my father a call. This time however, it was my mother who jumped on the phone to give me a stern talking to.
I was asked why I am not taking better care of myself and why in the world I would eat meat that was sitting in the sun all day. I agreed that this was one of the stupider things I have done in recent memory, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Apparently I was wrong. This is the part of my story that is going to take some time to process. My mother lives in Michigan. That is an important fact for you to remember.
Who kept me awake while driving:
My mom and dad
As I sat in traffic, feeling nauseous and frustrated, my mother called me on the phone and said “I am coming out there”. Of course this is what any mother would say and I appreciated the sentiment. “When is your game and when are you leaving for Los Angeles?” she asked. Feeling a bit out of it I told her my itinerary, once again figuring this was just a loving mother trying to comfort her son. “I am flying to Seattle the day after tomorrow, I have bought my ticket, I will be there at 5:30.”
Wait, what?!
No seriously, what?!
My mom is coming.
I made it to Seattle after sitting in traffic for nearly 3 hours due to accidents galore on every highway. What should have been a 17-hour drive turned into a 22-hour odyssey. I am still a little sick so those conversations I had with my mom may have been hallucinations. If they were real, I may have the greatest mother in the history of creation.
I am staying with a family friend in Bellevue, Washington and this is the view from their porch.
The media is lying to you. Seattle is one of the most gorgeous cities in America. Don't let this “rain” nonsense cloud your judgement (sorry for the pun). There is no better place for me to be right now. I can already feel my stomach settling as I relax and look out over this magnificent vista.
Travel Stats
Miles Traveled: 369
Time in Car: 10 hours
Avg. Speed: 36.9 MPH
Gas Money: $63.37
Gas Price: 3.999
Gallons Filled: 15.760
Exercise: None
Sleep Time: 8 Hours 20 minutes
Bottles of Water: 4, 2 bottles of Gatorade
Bathroom Stops: 2
Traffic Jams: 4 hours 30 minutes
Food Eaten: Subway chicken teryaki, blueberries, grapes, chicken tika masala and naan
Total Money spent today $81.18
Cumulative Miles through today 9,793
Cumulative Time in car through today 184 hours