Shanghai Yummy

Now closing in on the final leg of the Long Journey. In the last 6 days, have:

• Covered more than 2000 miles
• Met up with 4 friends in 4 different cities, two of whom I haven't seen in more than 2 years
• Discovered that the air conditioning will stay on if I don't turn it off between car starts
• Discovered the above only after baking in 100+ temps for about two hours
• Circumnavigated a "huge wreck" on I-10 in New Mexico
• Saw the sprawling metropolis of Silver City, NM, thanks to the above
• Visited Fort Hancock, TX (where Andy Dufresne crossed the border)
• Consistently arrived at least 4 hours late to every city
• Woke up at or around noon every day even though intended to wake up at 8
• Determined that I-10 from El Paso to mile marker 477 is quite possibly the most desolate stretch of interstate in the country
• Texas is huge
• Oklahoma's turnpike, even though you have to pay to use it, has the most ghetto rest areas I've ever seen
• Learned the hard way not to idle with the air conditioning going when the outside temp is more than 100
• Still managed to have a great time and be pretty much on schedule after all this...