We've all had them. Days that simply begin with signs that tell us to remain within the confines of home and watch the sun gently rise on one side of the house and serenely set on the other. Experienced from the comforts of pajamas, the couch, with beer(s), & a bag of chips (preferably jalapeno flavored), few situations are safer or more soothing.
Sign #1 that today was just such a day were immediate as I awoke to a fresh inch of snow knowing that 1300 miles of driving await us. Any other day, a measly inch would hardly necessitate a second thought but as you know, today was our departure for 1 Lap and as such, our friendly neighborhood Polak, Sebastian, had to maneuver his slick-tired Lotus from his house, down a precipitous 2000 feet of twisting tarmac through a snow storm even to get started; sketch, yes.
It's 7am and the expletives between the two of us have already started. I'll say this only because it's true........he's fucking difficult. Nary a hello as he roars into the driveway and barks orders to get my stuff in the car and says we need to stop in Evergreen to get the event-required fire extinguisher; sign #2 indicating pajamas and potato chips would have been a better idea. Unfortunately, the snow was coming down so quickly that we were in danger of being stranded so departure was forced without said extinguisher causing angst among those of us who have excessive hair on their back. Suffice it to say that Sebastian worries too much and said extinguisher was obtained without incident, somewhere in Nebraska.
11am and things are going much smoother as the sun peeked through the clouds and the roads dried to allow care-free driving. Care-free that is if you drive less than 90mph. Sign #3 to stay amongst the pajama'ed appeared in the form of a Nebraska state trooper reminding me that I love my couch. Cruising between 95-100, the brown spec in the horizon that I suspected to be a fine local constabulary was just that.......lucky beyond good fortune, he tucked in behind us right as I slowed to the speed limit. 10 miles........10 miles of nervously glancing in the rear view mirror as I try to hold a very steady 74mph in a car without cruise control is near impossible. Somehow the fuzz pulled off and we continued unscathed. Turns out a mandarin orange Lotus Elise attracts unwanted attention.
3pm and settled in to the buzz, rattle, hum of a plastic car with no sound deadening. Sign #4 appears......literally. "State Patrol Stop for Drug Trafficking". Now understand that Sebastian nor I are regular smokers of the ganja, but I just so happened to have a couple cookies that would certainly get us in trouble. Immediately batting the possibilities back and forth, the "stop" somehow never manifest itself and we moved along without incident.
11pm and we've rolled into a hotel to call it a day. I'm hoping when I wake, that all signs of remaining in pajamas are gone. We're overly excited with what's to come. Our itinerary for tomorrow has us registering, going through tech inspection, and running the first skidpad event in South Bend, IN.
If I were Luke Duke, I'd be screaming "YEEEEHAW!!!"
