We’re at it again, crossing the country back to the East Coast. This time with two little furries in tow. Day the first is closing out and, whew, what a day it’s been. Currently, I’m sitting in our pet- friendly Motel 6 off I-15, which was the interstate I was on for the bulk of the many hundreds of miles from Redlands. You may notice I’m using singular tense here. Yes, that is because Dennis is driving the rental truck with all our things (packed in like a crazy Jenga game) but he doesn’t happen to be here in the room with me at the moment. And why is that? Because somewhere in Nevada (a pretty toasty part of Nevada), a red light began flashing in the cab indicating some sort of engine emergency and he, wisely, pulled off the road to find out what was going on. (Me? I would have unwisely turned up whatever I was listening to and ignored it. I know. I know. This is bad and I really wouldn’t actually do that. I think.) Anyway, he called the truck people to send a mechanic while sending me on since I have the two furry felines in the back of the truck and gawd knows, we don’t want them in there any longer than necessary.

I’ll get back to the Dennis situation in a minute, but first let me explain with a visual prop the kind of spread our two cats are traveling in: The back of the truck was fitted with a shell and some all-purpose carpeting where on top is placed two cat beds, a random pillow, a water fountain/drinky thing, food, their cat box, and two plants (because sure, why not?). After some initial meowzing, they went quiet, which either meant they’d given up and fallen into a coma or they were just accepting it. At our first rest stop about an hour in, I checked on them and it seemed they were somewhere in between resigned and baffled but not at all suffering outwardly. This was obviously a relief.

So, Dennis: After calling the truck company, they sent out a mechanic although it took over two hours for said mechanic to reach him. Then they fixed it but (UPDATE) I just got a call from him that the truck crapped out again. So now he’s just past Las Vegas and waiting for ANOTHER mechanic. Holy sh**T. They think they know what it is and how to make it right but who knows if I’ll see him tonight. I do not care for Las Vegas. This may seem a misplaced frustration. More I don’t care for this rental truck company. Anyway. Apparently these are the adventures of cross-country journeys.

I have just finished a Subway sandwich after having taken a bath in the whirlpool tub that is actually a major focal point of this motel room (!?!?). I am attempting to breathe but until we get the whole band back together, I’m feeling a bit tense. By the time you read this, there will be an update, so **stay tuned.

This is the jumpsuit I wore today (I don’t do selfies very successfully and plus it was time for the whirlpool):

This is the welcoming Motel 6 maiden/gnome statue outside the establishment door:

This is the view outside the window here in Beaver, UT:

And here are the cats currently:

**Saturday late-breaking update: The map’s been altered to reflect the fact that after the truck broke down for a THIRD time an hour+ outside of Vegas (again with the Vegas), a tow truck came and took the truck and Dennis into LV so that today they can figure out what’s wrong. He spent the night there and what we’re hoping is that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas insofar as mechanical trouble is concerned but not when it comes to he or the vehicle having to stay in that city I refuse to name.