26.7.07

Ersatz Aventura, Part Deux

Does anybody draft the big trailer rigs for protection from Smokey & saving some gas on fairly long Interstate hauls anymore? I managed to fall in behind one big refrigerator truck not long after I hit 64 West out of Richmond-- (Virginia, not California!)
For the hour or so until I took 81 South I followed, tailgating somewhat obnoxiously for some stretches, easing back for breathing space now & then, holding to a steady 75-80 miles an hour through periods of gusting showers alternating with breaks in the clouds. Nice adrenalin, minus breakfast-- by the time I'd reviewed email & wasted some time in fruitless efforts at crafting this followup to the short write-up below, called Budget Rent-a-Car about a pick-up, & made it out to the Holiday Inn lobby, it was a few minutes past eleven, the kitchen had just closed & there was nothing for it except maybe percolating some coffee back in my room before I checked out. Never mind...
I think I need to regrow some backbone-- apart from this arguable slight lapse in hospitality on the part of America's Innkeeper, after declining some insurance package from one of Cheap Tickets' partners online, I let myself get talked into Budget's own offer rather than being firm in insisting my card would provide more than adequate coverage. This casual yielding to 'practicality' actually doubled the total estimated cost of my rental.
It's noon already & I'm running late again. The drive to Maverick Farms is a great deal more scenic-- meaning, of course, that it meanders along turning, climbing, winding roads-- & I would like to stop at one of two wineries in Floyd as I start out-- Chateau Morrisette are pioneers in the region-- let's see (--as in taste) what they're doing...!