It's no secret that I have been on the road A LOT in the past 2 months, driving around the entire state of WV. Today I found myself back in the car and ultimately will spend more hours driving than I will in all of my meetings combined. Again. As I was driving along I saw some weird things, silently cursed the Department of Highways, ignored my own bodily signals, drank a LOT of soda, and drove through lots of rain. And since I am by myself in this hotel room, you all are going to be subjected to my observations of the day!
1) While driving today I passed 3 windmill blades. You know those huge windmills that are used for electricity production (not windmills that you would see in Holland)? Those ones. I actually have probably passed 100 of those blades over my 5 year drive of the WV highway (specifically I-79). Sadly, however, I just found out WHAT they were about a month ago when one of my supervisors, Jack, told me. Prior to last month I spent all my time trying to figure out why people were shipping really skinny airplane wings all over the US. What can I say folks...my master's degree is in a soft science.
2) It really annoys me when people do not use their cruise control on cars that most definitely have it. Playing leap frog with the 18-wheelers is bad enough, but having to play it with a butthead driver in a Lincoln Navigator in the middle of a downpour tends to really tick me off. And don't tell me that high-end car doesn't have cruise control.
3) And speaking of driving things that drive me nuts, my number one pet peeve.....drivers who feel it most necessary to leave their turn signal on for MILES after switching lanes. I think car manufacturers should install a sensor that gauges how long the signal has been on in relation to whether or not the tires are moving. My suggestion for the sensor signal--a fog horn.
4) During my travels today I drove across the New River Gorge Bridge...the western hemisphere's longest arch bridge. Until June 2003 it was the world's longest arch bridge at 3030 feet in length. On June 28, 2003 the Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, China was opened and surpassed the New River Gorge bridge by 105 feet. This bridge also holds the title of the highest vehicular bridge in the Americas at 876 feet high (it held the title of the highest in the world from 1977 when it was completed until 2004 when the Millau Viaduct in France was opened with a height of 1,125 feet). Every October most of the bridge is closed for
Bridge Day. It's a huge event in WV, and this year will mark the
30th anniversary of Bridge Day. You are welcome for your bridge lesson.
5) Just before driving across the New River Gorge I came upon FOUR state troopers that had pulled over a white SUV and had two males in handcuffs sitting on the guardrail. A gorgeous german shepard was running around the car and two of the officers felt the need to stand in the right lane of the road with cars going in excess of 70 mph and no flares. Uh oh, DRUG BUST! Thankfully that is not a normal sight along the major highways of West Virginia.
6) And speaking of sections of road being blocked off....is there a code in the manual of the West Virginia Department of Highways that says that workers must block off one lane of the interstate 5 miles before AND after a construction zone? I am not exaggerating folks. Not only does this cause a fantastic traffic jam at the beginning of the "construction zone" because drivers have no idea how to do the zipper effect, but it only ticks off said drivers who drive 45 miles an hour for FIVE MILES before finally coming upon the 30 feet of construction, and then have to drive through FIVE MORE MILES of cones before finally, finally being spit out into two lane traffic. And for the cherry on top....said construction workers are playing into the stereotype and leaning on shovels and shooting the breeze while road raging drivers attempt to stick to the construction zone speed.
7) I need to take my own advice. Since we are in the middle of re-potty training with Morgan, when she has accidents I tell her she needs to listen to her body. Well Mama, it's time to listen to yourself. If your bladder tells you that it needs to be emptied 30 miles before you final destination, don't ignore the bladder. It has the potential to make the last 6 miles of your trip feel like 600. Thankfully I was able to endure the pain and hold off my bladder long enough to get checked in to the hotel. I am just glad there was no one else waiting at the front desk to check in. I might have had an ass-ih-ent as Morgan says. However, Mama remains a big girl...for today.
And finally (I know, if you are still reading this, you are probably glad I am almost done)...
8) I went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, near the hotel. Since there was a line of folks waiting to get seated, I told the greeter that I would just like to place a take out order. She said she could seat me, my response was that I didn't want to take up a table just for me (people tend to look at you funny if you are sitting by yourself without reading material) and that I was staying in the hotel up the street. I waited a few minutes and got my food. Now...if you order take out and you just told the greeter that you were staying in a hotel, what would you NOT have immediate access to? That's right folks, silverware. There was NO silverware in my bag of spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. Not exactly finger food. Thankfully I looked in the bag before getting all the way back to the hotel and a very generous Wendys provided me with a fork, spoon, and a diet coke...all for the low price of $1.05. I took a few extra straws as I am known to do, grabbed some napkins, and hit the road.
Now it's off for another NCIS mini-marathon and bed. Thanks for joining me for tonight's Observations of a Tired Traveler.
The cape was a fun addition, and kept Morgan busy while we needed her to look down. She really wanted to watch herself in the mirror a lot!
The first snip....
What Morgan thought as the cut progressed...
The finishing touches
Morgan, waiting for Julia to wake up from her nap.
Our beautiful Birthday Girl, Julia Alesse
She literally dove right in!
The see-saw was not a present, but LOADS of fun!
Morgan got a few gifts too, including jewels like Julia.
Hoping for a morsel... 
My sister-in-law, Amy, and Baby Kole (every time I talk about Amy, Morgan has to add "and Baby Kole!"). Isn't she gorgeous?? 
Celebrating First Downs
Drawing up plays for Coach Stewart
