BLACKFIVE: Early Summer Wolf Tour Underway

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Early Summer Wolf Tour Underway

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

While reading this story before leaving didn't help the blood pressure, I can already tell that the tour is going to be good. At least for me, and hopefully for you too.

We deal so much with the negative sometimes, that it can be easier than it should be to forget that there are a lot of decent people out there who get it. The first day of this trip reminded me of that in several ways. Part of the route yesterday was along the Purple Heart Trail. Then there are simple things like this which is one of the first things you see at the West Virginia welcome center on I-64:

Even in West Virginia, the home of Robert Byrd naming [Robert Byrd road, Robert Byrd highway system, Robert Byrd Skyline, Robert Byrd textile complex (white sheets cheaper than dirt!), Robert Byrd Blue Sky, Robert Byrd will name something else after himself soon], those who served and especially those who gave all outnumber the politcians (as it should be) in terms of the bridges and other items of interest named for them.

People also reminded me, watching how younger members of society interacted with older veterans along the way. For all that we see and hear, there are still those who get it; and, there are still those who believe in rational discourse -- especially those not in the thick of politics.

I had a very nice dinner last night with someone you will be getting to know later this summer. What? Do you think that we, the upfront, nice, open, and honest members of Team Blackfive would be up to something?

I also got to visit with a friend, who while a political opposite, gets some very important concepts -- including one of the most important in regards Iraq: those are real people over there that will get screwed if we just up and leave. It a bit of blind luck, it turns out the hotel I got for the night is right across a street (okay, highway) from where he works. Got a late tour, and some wonderful conversation.

Miss Jenny is with me, having gotten her wish that she be with me on one of my adventures. She started a 10-plus hour day in the car full of curiosity:

And was up checking on things if I so much as changed acceleration, much less turned or changed lanes. The excitement of stopping to check on a moving van that ran off the interstate seemed to wind her up a bit further (all okay, btw). This is the longest car trip we've done, and she was literally up for the first four hours watching and checking. Some of the big rigs fascinated her, and it was amusing to watch her lock in on people in vehicles and study them as they went by. Which also led to:

What are we doing and where are we going? It's almost like dealing with a small child who is convinced one or both parents are really superheroes and the day job is just a cover, until they realize that "but, but you're even more boring at work than you are at home!" By about hour eight, it was:

"You slammed on the breaks, did we hit them? No? Okay, I'm going back to sleep." I did have to moderate my tendency to talk to other drivers, as Jenny tends to presume I'm talking to her. Not too many to yell at yesterday, but those that were, hoo boy. Mr. "House Calls" who nearly took off the fender of the renta-car whipping in and out of traffic, the Holiday Bus who decided to come over despite traffic being in the lane (all of us managed to get out of the way, but was close) and I don't know if that was the same Holiday Bus that decided to get in the left "no trucks" lane going up a hill, but I've noted the Holiday brand and will do all I can to steer traffic away from them... The real interesting one was the car doing 50 or so in a 70 zone at a highway interchange, and while I did have to slow down, I watched and waited for the crash as cars and trucks had to slam on brakes, swerve, and more as these people slowly meandered across two lanes. Was glad they went the other way...

So, if you see a Toyota Matrix (not what I ordered, but what I got) with a white fluffy puppy and over half the volume of said car given over to stuff for the puppy, give it a wide berth as it steers for dreck. *G* Say hi, the dog doesn't bite (usually, though I am a different story), and I will say that I am very much looking forward to this evening.