Melissa's Big Adventure
So Shannon gave me really good directions to get out to her place in Elizabeth, and we had a great visit. She made some yummy soup which was perfect for a cloudy day. Kaylynn had me cracking up, and I know she thought I was pretty funny too. She has some fun toys. I headed out between 2:30-3:00pm, armed with my directions. Now I should mention that I don't read directions in reverse so well. I was driving, and looking for a second stop sign. I never saw one. I just kept driving, and once I reached a T intersection, I opted to turn right. Now I'm talking myself into stuff looking familiar, but nothing does. I finally see a sign that says Kiowa City Limits. I pull over and call Shannon. While the phone is ringing, my phone starts to beep to tell me I'm almost out of battery. Shannon encourages me to plug in the phone (which I can't), and to seek out directions. I promise to call her once I get home. So I'm beside a gas station & a real estate office. I choose the real estate office. Not because I think they'll know the area, but I figure they are probably more reliable than a gas station. First, I have to stop crying (don't feel bad, I wasn't crying so much, just a little). It has now started to rain pretty hard. I go in, and tell him I'm lost, help me find my way back to Denver. I need to find Parker Road. I tell him I was just in Elizabeth visiting a friend, but I'm totally lost. He starts to try to give me directions, then decides to draw me a map. When I tell him the route I took to get to Elizabeth he looks at me funny. He asks, where have you lived all your life? So I tell him Canada. Oh, he says, yeah, no roads needed there, you just have your snowmobiles. I nod sympathetically. ;)
So he draws the map and explains to me what the route will look like. Very simple directions. But I'm sure to ask him once I reach the road that will lead me home (Parker), I will be able to recognize it's the right one. Yes, it'll be the 3rd set of lights, and a major intersection. Map in hand, and a prayer, I'm off to head home. It's pretty rural, and the rain is really coming down. I find my way home, and I pass 2 Chick-Fil-A's and consider stopping to eat. But then I figure, I have food at home, plus Shannon will be waiting for my call. I walk in the door at 5pm, and call Shannon. She's been praying every half hour for me to make it home safe. She feels bad, and I assure her, it was likely unavoidable. Besides, I'm home safe. Next time the drive will be better. It won't deter me from seeing her & Kaylynn.

I usually have bad luck getting places when I am alone. Even when I'm not. There was the time I ended up in Santa Monica with Colin, Dawn & Dylan trying to find Hollywood. :) That was the worst experience. I was so upset I got physically ill. Colin had to drive. And then there was the day we arrived in Denver and I got lost trying to find the place where we had to return to Budget truck. I was crying a lot that day. The thing with Denver is, you get like no notice when your lane is going to end. And they have huge sections where there are one way streets.

Alright, just wanted to blog that. Scrubs is on in a few. I'm closing with a quote from This Is Spinal Tap.

David St. Hubbins: I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.
Ian Faith: I really think you're just making much too big a thing out of it.
Derek Smalls: Making a big thing out of it would have been a good idea.