Life On the Road

It's currently 1:46am local time in Illinois. My sweetheart is driving and I'm in the passenger seat keeping him company, especially since we are driving through some thick nasty fog.

Sunset in Texas

We've travelled the corridor from Texas to Illinois three times in the past few days, making stops in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Tennessee along the way. It's a beautiful run, right through the heartland of the country. During the daytime, miles and miles of farmland stretch in every direction, fields as far as the eye can see; they give way to the rolling curves of the Appalachian foothills, currently emblazoned in the glory of autumn colors. The hills level out again to ranchland, dotted with cattle, of every color of the earth, grazing on the sparse vegetation left at the end of the year.

At night, however, the darkness makes the distance seem greater, as there are few landmarks to denote the passing time. Weather conditions such as rain or fog make driving more stressful than the usual monotony.

My honey and I have worked out a rotation schedule that allows each of us to drive about half the night and half the day, so that neither of us has to handle all the night driving. Now that we're finally getting into a routine, it's getting a lot easier for both of us.

Fall colors in Tennessee 

Sleeping in a moving semi, while the other person drives, is harder than we originally expected. The bumps, curves, and speed changes that are part of normal driving make restful sleeping difficult. As for cooking...now that's an experience! Yesterday I was trying very hard to make lunch for us as Don was driving, but we were on a road that was plagued with an unusual quantity of bumps, dips, and potholes. I now have a better understanding of what our country's early settlers experienced while crossing the land in covered wagons! For the most part, while the truck is on the road, we stick to sandwiches and snacks, but just in case you ever wondered, it is definitely possible to cook in a crockpot and a toaster oven while in a moving semi. My cooking blog, Bekah's Recipes, has several of the meals we've made lately and I will continue to update it as we try new things.

Stay safe on the roads and wave if you see us!