After 39 days on the road, thousands of miles in the car, much hotel/laundromat laundry and far more fast food than is probably healthy (though I enjoyed every last bit of it, particularly my rediscovery of the joy of the McDonald’s Chocolate Shake), Choppy and I are back in Terre Haute (for at least a few hours), having ended what I view as the first part of the trip. This isn’t really a retrospective (I’ll save that for the book), just a few things from the long, long drive back home from Phoenix.

Broken Car WindshieldYet another broken piece of auto glass (to go along with a broken piece of iPad glass). Thankfully, this one wasn’t a result of a theft, though like the theft, was caused by a rock. This particular rock was kicked up by a truck going the opposite way as I left the Grand Canyon. So, to revise the beginning of the post, after 39 days, thousands of miles, and $500+ of glass, Choppy and I are back at home.

Choppy GazingChoppy contemplates the passing countryside. Please ignore that I obviously took the picture while driving (particularly awesome (and telling)? The semi in the rear view mirror). I would pass it off as something a professional driver is completely able to do, except I don’t get paid to drive at this point, and therefore I am not a professional driver, but just someone who drives a lot (of course, I am a professional, and I was driving when I took this, so I technically was professional driver when I took this picture. And, in case you just got here and it wasn’t obvious from that sentence, I am a lawyer by trade).

Mr. CamelPer a request (I evidently take those), I stopped in Winslow, Arizona on the way home. After the obligatory Standin’ on the Corner stop, I snapped this picture. I don’t have any idea what is going on here, but there is nothing in this picture that doesn’t inspire further questions, from the camel, to the sign, to the tire swing, to the police car. (Again, please ignore that I once again took a picture while driving).

Garth Brook BoulevardDid this inspire at least an hour of listening to Garth in the car? You bet it did. (And, yet again, ignore that I took this picture while driving. If it helps, I wasn’t texting. Or drinking. In this or any of the above pictures. So it could have been worse).

I have a few more things to add from the trip (can you say NASCAR?), and like the post implies, I am only temporarily home, so there won’t be any break in the posts (please ignore the couple recent days where I didn’t post. In my defense, I was driving 800+ miles both Monday and Tuesday).