Let's recap shall we?

Days as crappy as Friday and Saturday just need to be documented because hopefully soon I will look back on it and laugh. I'm not laughing yet.

Friday right after work I eagerly hit the road for St. Louis on my yearly summer trip to visit my hometown. Storms were rolling in and it was so amazing to see the incredible lightning across the plains. I had already booked a hotel in Hays, Kansas for the night, knowing that I wouldn't make it much further before I got too sleepy to drive. Epic fail #1. I didn't realize it until I arrived, but I had booked a room at the same craptastic hotel I had stayed at the year before. Bear in mind, I lived on a roach-infested cargo ship and slept on a wood board for 4 days in Indonesia... so for me to complain about a hotel is pretty bad. I was given a room in a dark, unlit wing of the hotel, there was trash and a broken mini-fridge outside my room and inside my room it had to have been no less than 100 degrees. My AC unit was barely working and the ceiling tiles were warped and water damaged. I called the front desk and was given another (only slightly better) room and didn't put up much more of a fight because it was already nearly 1 am and I just wanted to go to sleep.

The next morning I dust myself off and practically ran from the hotel to my car. Determined to conquer Kansas and finish the second leg of my trip. I love road trips and all the random stops along the way. Unable to find a Starbucks I did come upon the next best thing.

Yep, we don't have DD in Denver anywhere so I was pretty stoked for some chocolate glazed doughnut holes and iced vanilla coffee. I scored my treats and got back on the highway. Probably an hour or so later... Epic Fail #2. There I was, chugging along on the interstate when my car starts to gradually slow down. No warning signs of trouble and no reason for what might be causing this malfunction. I pulled over and the car shut down. It was 110 degrees in the Kansas heat so I figured (hoped, prayed, wished) that my car was just overheated and if I just waited it out things might be okay. A few minutes later and one tearful call to my dad, because thats what dads are for, I realized this problem wasn't going away. I called emergency roadside service and proceeded to wait almost 2 hours with no AC for them to show up. Then began the constant stream of phone calls trying to find a service station, dealership, rental car.... ANYTHING to just get me to STL. Epic Fail #3. It was Saturday at 2 pm and everything was closed until Monday. Everything. I was pretty inconsolable at this point. And a totally sweaty mess. Was I seriously about to spend two days trapped in some random town with one restaurant and one gas station? My family went into full-on crisis mode trying to figure out how to help. My car was towed to the Jeep dealership and I was dropped at the Super 8. A short while later we had a plan. Stay at the hotel, catch a cab (the only cab within 100 miles) and hop on the Amtrak Sunday morning. Arrangements were made, pizza was delivered to the hotel and I took the best shower of my life.

Every cloud has a silver lining, right? I've been thinking for years that I'd love to travel somewhere by train and today I got my wish.

Things to be thankful for... cheap train tickets, nice people, family, stopping by such cute little towns, car warranties, iced tea and summer dresses. Oh... and actually getting to St. Louis in one piece! So far this trip has been a bit of a disaster but things are turning around. Let's just hope for quick repairs and smooth sailing from here on out. I never was a fan of drama. And I've had more than my fair share so far.

P.S. I'll answer emails and all that stuff tomorrow and the next. Haven't had solid internet access since Friday night!