Random Tuesday...Road trip edition!

Well, we hit the highway for downstate New York this past weekend, and apparently every other citizen of the state with a driver's license thought they should head on out and join us. Granted, we were only traveling from Central New York, so this was no grand pilgrimage, in terms of miles. You would think that we would've had the force with us considering the breakfast...
...clearly we swayed more to the Dark Side. By the way, my griddle does not defy gravity, but these are sketchy enough right side up (didn't read the part about spraying the molds until later...much, much later), so I thought I'd better flip the photo.

Getting there:
As we were heading east on the Thruway, we got caught up in some rubber-necking traffic. I do not really understand this phenomenon, but whatever. The spectacle was the result of a Family Dollar tractor trailer that was losing dollars worth of goods to the fire that had broken out in the trailer portion. The traffic jam was not assembling in a neat trafficky order. People were mostly pulled slightly at an angle in each lane. Folks were out of their cars, taking photos and making new friends...for miles.

I envied their willingness to accept the situation. The slightest hint of any tie-up when I am driving makes me feel anxious and eager to curl up into a fetal position. Some of my angst comes from my inability to appreciate the journey...gotta get THERE! The other issue I have relates to some past experiences in traffic involving bathroom issues, crying children, vomiting children, risk of running out of gas, missing holiday festivities and general fatigue. Maybe if I could plan for a traffic jam a bit better, I could enjoy it more. I will work on that.

They did not open a single lane of the Thruway in that spot for almost two hours after we passed it. Yikes! We hit some more traffic in our own direction, and I uttered the same inquiries as usual. We were treated to this gem of a work truck. I am not sure if you can make out the message on the back, as the good camera was packed too far back for the minions to reach. It says "Let us check your shorts!" Luckily we had the opportunity to safely pass, as I had to know what the business was, since that message is all that was on the back. Any guesses?

It was an electrician! Love it!

Being there:
We arrived, relatively unscathed, at my folks' new home. It is such a nice place! Well actually it's great, and I know this because of some of the items they received in their welcome basket.
My favorite is a tie between the calculator and the notecards, that display a reasonable likeness to one of the units in the compound, but not necessarily the unit one has just moved into. I think any gift arrangement that blends Italian olive oil, coffee and a calculator has covered all bases.

We went out to dinner, and luckily the parking lot was fairly empty.
I have no idea what route one takes to get to this alternate dining establishment, but before I'd drive six minutes, I am fairly certain I would just hit the P.F. Changs across the street. However, I might not be able to get this kind of Florentine omelette there...
WITH spinach you say? Hmmm, intriguing, yet I have no idea what is in their Western omelette. (So I did have the Florentine.) I also have to wonder if this was really the most effective way for them to show their omelette offerings, as opposed to just a grand way to make that section a full page long, as this is such a small portion of what they had. It also serves to make one ponder the ever so slight price differences between various items. (Swiss cheese thirty cents more than American? Must be very fancy.)

Being here:
We arrived back home to an empty refrigerator and general messiness. I am not sure why I was surprised, as it was no more likely that fairies were going to come in to pick up while we were gone than it was that fairies were responsible for trashing the place and consuming all of the milk and bread in our absence.

After tending to several other matters, and some general procrastination, I finally hit the grocery store late this afternoon. After putting all of my items on the belt, I realized that the people in front of me were not being moved along very quickly, then I spotted the cashier's name tag...and in a not so quiet voice, I said "SHIT!" This was the person who took twenty minutes to ring up my friend's order last week. It was hard to pinpoint one specific reason for her lack of speed. Could've been the sightseeing, or the several mental pictures being taken of various angles of each item, or how many different things she wondered if I needed bagged (I get it for milk, but yeah, I'm gonna want my frozen pizzas in a bag, as to not just be throwing random groceries all over the back of the van), or just how many items she felt compelled to sticker.
I am unaware of there being a big circle of housewives making off with over $100 in groceries they've paid for, while trying to swipe some $1.99 skim milk...carried in their cart...un-bagged,as to not raise suspicion with the armed guard I don't recall seeing. I wonder what my receipt is for, as I always felt confident that it could serve as proof of payment.

It is almost past my bedtime. Hopefully I will be able to sleep now that I cleared out some random. Thanks to Stacy for tucking us in and continuing to host the Random Rebellion!