Ok, I guess I made too much fun yesterday because I only managed to get into one new state today. And I did something I hadn't done all year long. Namely, I blew out a tire.

I got up this morning after a lovely 9-hour siesta and drove one mile to the next exit for gas. After that I traversed a mere 10 miles before a horrid sound and a quick application of brakes and a slow death-crawl to the side of the road. Whipping out my trusty cell and Good Sam membership card, I commenced holding for 30 minutes, before finally connecting to someone who could contact someone else who could help.

Turns out the 'someone else' was in Terre Haute, a couple hours distant. Meanwhile, I'd decided I should probably wait outside because I was only about a foot off the road and trucks kept flying by at high speed, rocking poor Bertha mercilessly. I put Cali in her carrier and had just sat down in my lawn chair at a safe distance when a policeman pulled up. Apparently it's safer to wait inside...so I laid on my couch for the next hour and a half and waited for wonderful, handy Dennis to arrive and save the day.

My spare was still in good working order after a year riding on Bertha's backside and a mere 30 minutes later I was speeding down the road. I only covered 400 miles today which is significantly less than the goal, but I began to hear strange noises from the other tire -- which I probably should have mentioned Dennis checked and advised changing sooner rather than later -- so I got worried and began looking for a Wal-Mart to stay in so I can hit the tire shop first thing tomorrow morning. Plus it started raining as it got dark so it's not a bad night to stop early.