We've just about... almost... recovered from our fast transit across two thirds of the North American continent. Yesterday was pretty low and slow and the most strenuous activity we indulged in involved 12 ounce curls... with multiple repetitions... taken out on the verandah. SN1 has a real verandah (not like the metaphorical verandah at El Casa Móvil De Pennington), a modern take on the ol' southern architectural tradition of the screened-in porch. It's a great place to drink beer and smoke cigars, especially since the weather gods have been in a kind mood. Which is to say moderate temperatures and moderate humidity... a mid-summer rarity in these climes.
Speaking of humidity... there's this, at right. Your eyes deceive you, as the picture is in sharp focus and not a major blur. That, Gentle Reader, was the view out of my hotel window in Monroe, Loosy-anna around 0700 hrs. What you see is massive amounts of condensation on the outside of said window, and I mean MASSIVE. I think the humidity at that point was something on the order of 135%, which was down slightly from the 146% of the previous night. It's a tossup as to whether lungs or gills are more appropriate for oxygen intake in the deep south during summer. Evolution will ultimately make the decision for us, but I wouldn't bet against gills.
Oh. Did I mention it was hot? Not triple-digit heat (thank The Deity At Hand) but low 90s ~ high 80s, and this at 2030 hrs when I arrived in the fair city of Monroe; it cooled down into the low 80s overnight. And we were thankful.
But enough about miserable weather. Long distance speed runs are exhausting. You would think that sitting in a fairly comfortable seat for 12 hours at a time wouldn't be all that stressful, as long as the experience includes periodic stops to walk around, relieve yourself, and get the blood moving in your extremities. But it is and it's mental stress. Your situational awareness is being updated constantly in a never-ending stream of messages about vehicles in front of you, behind you, and to the side of you. You have to be alert for asshats that change lanes abruptly without signaling, cutting you off in the process; asshats who'll fly up to within inches of your rear bumper at 90 miles an hour before slamming on their brakes and STAY inches off your bumper even when they are the tenth car in a procession behind two semis... one laboriously passing the other with a relative speed delta of .026 mph. All while trying to take in a bit of the scenery when you're not otherwise occupied with keeping a weather eye out for cops.
I've figured out that the gendarmes will give you a pass if you're doing no more than eight-over the posted limit, but your fellow travelers will NOT. Time was when I was rarely overtaken on the open road; that wasn't the case on this trip. I was passed by most everyone except those semis, even considering my cruise control was set just a shade under 80 mph for most of the trip. It's no wonder America has an energy problem... I know those big-assed SUVs going 90 mph are only getting 12 or 13 mpg at best, and eight or nine mpg is much more likely. But Hey! Ain't that America...
So anyhoo. We're pretty much mentally restored and will do some exploring this weekend before we head out to Pittsburgh in ten days time. And there will be a trip over to Charleston in our near future, as well.
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