Follow the Route.

Not too long ago, I drove to my old home in the desert southwest in order to finish up everything that needed to be done to put my house on sale... or rent.  I'd really love to rent it out.  It's really hard to give up your dream home, and that home brought me so much joy.

Driving to the other side of the country was quite an adventure, however!

I headed out with my parents, who also wanted to return for a bit.  For the most part, the drive went pretty smoothly, until...

We approached the exit for I40.  I prepared to exit, and my father, who was ahead of me, kept going.  In a panic, I called.

"You're going to turn off on the next exit for I40, right?"  I asked, trying to keep my voice from making my panic obvious.

"No.  Why would I do that?"

"Because we're supposed to???"

"No we're not.  We're going through Dallas."

I sat dumbstruck, unable to form the correct words for a reply.  Finally, I managed to squeak out one word.

"Why?"

To give you some idea of why I was freaking out, I need to point out that Dallas, TX is way off course.  It would add a lot of time onto the trip.  A short conversation ensued which was filled with confusion...

And we headed to Dallas. 

::insert sad face here::

My GPS was unhappy.  It kept trying to give me new routes to take to get back on course.  After a while it resorted to telling me to make U-turns.  When my GPS finally gave up on that as well,  it gave it's final demand, in a large, angry text size.

Follow
the Route.

Yeah... my GPS app on my phone was a bit angry.  Indeed, after a while it gave up completely, seeing as how we didn't Follow the Route, and it force closed in a fit of anger.  It took quite a while before I was able to actually get it to recognize my location so that I could use it again.


And I completely understood.


As Dallas got closer, I noted that even the sky was angry at us.

 Thunder struck above us, and it felt like the great Voice of God was even telling me to Follow the Route.

The drive through Dallas was miserable.  Why?  Well, for starters... it's Dallas!  Their freeway system is a complete puzzle to me.  I seems to have been created for no other reason than to fill drivers with overwhelming stress.

Another reason?  We got there during the lunch rush.

In conclusion, the drive through Dallas added another 2 1/2 hours to our cross country drive.  We got to the desert southwest at around midnight, and we were tired.  It was definitely an adventure, though!  Expect a few more posts dealing with the desert southwest: my true home, and a beautiful land with views of the Franklin Mountains.

And when driving across the country, please, please, please remember to

Follow 
the Route.