Many of the Las Vegas hotel casinos I have visited send me offers to come and stay at attractive room rates. On this trip I would be staying at a place I'd been before and at two places where I had not stayed.
Monday, January 21, 2002
Even without the alarm, I was awake at 5:45 a.m. and up at 5:48 a.m. After combing and brushing, feeding the dog, putting ice in the cooler and my bag in the car, I left at 6:20 a.m., stopped briefly at the bank and then began the trip in earnest.
Setting the radio to KRTY-FM 95.3 San Jose, I drove south on Almaden Expressway to Harry Road, south on Mc Kean Road, east on Bailey Avenue, south on Monterey Highway to Morgan Hill and east on Cochrane Road to the Chevron Station just off U.S. 101.
I fueled and continued southbound on Hy 101, then eastbound on CA 152, passing CA 156, Casa de Fruta and the San Luis Dam. KRTY got really scratchy, so I switched over to KSKS-FM 93.7 Fresno, which had a good signal.
I passed CA 33, Interstate 5 and continued east. I encountered fog approaching Los Banos, so I adjusted my speed. The fog dissipated in the city but got much heavier as I continued east. Again I adjusted my speed, fully expecting the Mercedes that passed me to crash into the back of a slow-moving truck. I guess she got lucky.
The fog slowly dissipated and was nearly gone by the time I merged onto southbound CA 99 at 116 miles into the trip.
Another 26 miles later I pulled off CA 99 at Shaw Avenue in Fresno to get breakfast at Mc Donald's. I chuckled to see the sign that said "Please have your order ready," but there was only one menu board, and that was right at the speaker box, so it was impossible to do what they asked. Big Business. Harrumph!
On the way back to the freeway I noted that traffic signals were being erected on Shaw Avenue east of Hy 99. Those who recall my last driving report will note that I was frustrated at the long delay in making a left turn from NB 99 to Shaw Avenue due to heavy traffic and one crummy STOP sign. Perhaps they will be working by my next trip. More importantly, I hope the drivers of north Fresno will get through the intersection more quickly and safely.
I passed Selma, then turned onto CA 201 at Kingsburg, but could not find the post office or Swedish Village easily, so I continued south on Hy 99, through Goshen and Visalia, took a porcelain break at a rest area, then continued south through Pixley, Earlimart, Ducor, Delano, Mc Farland, Famoso and Shafter.
The radio was getting hard to hear, so I switched to KCWR-FM 107.1 Bakersfield.
Shortly after passing through Oildale I took CA 204 (a.k.a. Business 99 and Golden State Avenue) through the edge of Bakersfield and down Union Avenueto CA 58.
At Hy 58 I turned east and noted that I was just about halfway into the trip at 264 miles. I saw a Chevron Station (and others) at CA 184 ("Weedpatch Highway") that I might need on the way back. There was also a sign that said "Tehachapi 31, Mojave 53, Barstow 122."
About 10 miles short of Tehachapi is a little place called Keene, where I got off the freeway for the three mile trip to the Tehachapi Loop, one of the seven wonders of the railroad world.
Unfortunately Caltrans failed to erect a directional sign, or maybe it got knocked down and not replaced. But I found my way past the Keene Store and the post office, under the freeway, past the transfer station and up to the Loop monuments.
There isn't much to see when there are no trains, and I didn't want to take too much time, so I returned to Keene and got back on Highway 58.
Tehachapi was about another ten miles down the road, then a Highway Patrol scale, then Highway 14 and then Mojave. I stopped at Wendy's and then at Chevron for various types of fuel, then made the big left turn and continued eastbound on CA 58. It was 12:12 p.m. and surprisingly, there was not much traffic.
The Bakersfield radio station had faded away, so I switched to Highway Country 107.3 FM (can't find their web site), which I knew would get me almost all the way to the state line.
I passed Kramer Junction (U.S. 395) and then Lenwood Road, then got into the Barstow area, where I got onto Interstate 15 and continued north past Yermo, past the agricultural inspection station (on the other side of the freeway) and took a short break at the Clyde Kane Safety Rest Stop.
Another 20 minutes and 20 miles was Zzyzx Road, where I turned off the highway to see what there was. There wasn't much. The pavement faded to gravel, scrub brush and desert. I made a U-turn (where everybody else evidently does the same) and returned to Interstate 15.
It was only another 9 miles or so to Baker, and since I had no needs, I passed right by. Around Halloran Summit I switched to KWNR-FM 95.5 Las Vegas and then pressed onward to the state line.
I stopped at the Primm Valley Resort to get rid of a few quarters in my pocket, and they were only too glad to accomodate. Then I put $10 of "pocket money" (as opposed to "gambling money") into a one-dollar slot machine and came up with twenty dollars. This was my sign to keep on movin'.
Back on Interstate 15, I passed Jean and then got into the southern outskirts of Las Vegas. I took the Flamingo Road offramp, crossed over the freeway and turned into the parking lot of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. I parked the car at 3:32 p.m., a little over 9 hours into the trip. This was the second trip in recent memory that the distance from my driveway was exactly 555 miles.
On my November 2001 trip I had stopped at the Rio to look around, and while there took them up on their kind offer to cover my gambling losses for one-half hour. They had sent me a voucher for sixty dollars, and I figured that would easily cover the $55 room rate.
Check-in at the Rio was quick and painless. My reservation was in order (non-smoking room with two queen beds); I showed my credit card and driver's license and they issued me two metal keys with small magnetic strips on them, not unlike those on plastic hotel "keys" but smaller.
My room was in Masquerade Village, so I headed through the casino to the elevators and up to the 16th floor. As I walked by each room, I noted a red L.E.D. in each door lock. With some help from the maid, I inserted my key, the L.E.D. changed to green and I was able to enter the "suite."
It was a big room, with two big beds, a big color television and a big couch. I put my bag on the luggage rack, hung up my clothes and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling dark windows at the city below.
I noted that the room had a small refrigerator, real "glass" drinking glasses (instead of plastic cups), two telephones, an honor snack-and-beverage-bar, a table with two chairs and plenty of lighting. Inside the mirror-door closet was an iron, an ironing board and two extra pillows.
The bathroom had a nice shower with glass doors, plush towels, two sinks, two more mirrors and small make-up mirror with extra lighting.
I checked the television and it had CNN, plus the clock radio on the night stand was set to the correct time (3:48 p.m.). What more could a visitor desire?
Oh, yes, an extra blanket. I called Housekeeping and after a three-minute wait on "hold," they said they'd send one up. I looked for a television remote but found that it was necessary to use the remote-control joystick/game thingy that was attached by wires so that it won't walk away.
Not wanting to wait for the blanket, because sometimes it takes a while, I went down to the casino in time to see people floating by in balloons hanging from the ceiling, throwing beads, ala Mardi Gras. Being a sucker for free stuff, I caught some beads.
(Evidently they have music and singing on the hour starting at 4 p.m., followed by these motorized machines running on tracks in the ceiling. One can pay extra to ride in the floats, but I rather enjoyed competing for beads with other gamblers.)
There is a Harley-Davidson boutique on the casino floor, so I browsed. I found a great-looking long-sleeve red shirt with Fat Boy® logo but it was $46, so I passed.
I found the main casino cage and traded my voucher for $60 cash. I had parked the car a long way from where the elevators ended up being, so I went out to move it closer. I managed to find a closer parking place but it was still a long walk. I checked the room again and the blanket had been delivered.
Instead of driving down The Strip, I opted to take a cab over to Treasure Island for the 5:30 p.m. pirate battle. We caught the traffic lights just right and the ride was only $5.60, so I gave him seven dollars.
The Buccaneer Bay restaurant was too pricey and the Battle Bar had a two-drink minimum, so I went outside to see the battle. I stood in a place I had not been before, so that I could have a different view. As usual, it was excellent.
The battle takes only about 10 minutes, so when it was done I went inside and got a Treasure Island player card. Their room rates are too rich for my blood but they might send me a special offer.
I did a little gaming, a little looking around and got a deli sandwich and prepared for the 7 p.m. pirate battle. This time I was willing to pay the two-drink minimum at the Battle Bar but discovered that no food was allowed (rules, rules, rules!) so I went outside again.
I got a good place at the rope out near the sidewalk, but as battle time approached, I let a New York couple take my place so that they could see better. This was their first time, so I gave them a little commentary on what to look for and when.
Again, the battle was won and I took a cab back to the Rio. It was $5.70 this time; I still paid the driver seven dollars.
I got a lemonade at Wetzel's Pretzels to go with my sandwich, did a little gaming (mixed results) and checked voice mail from a pay phone. Although I had my pager with me, I had not received any of the ten junk pages Metrocall had sent, so it was another blessing in disguise. I have no Las Vegas coverage (they were disingenuous) but at least I wouldn't get junk pages in the middle of the night.
It was 8:30 p.m. when I got up to Room 16007 and sat down to relax (and eat my sandwich) for the first time all day. I watched a little CNN, made some notes, watched Larry King Live, then went back down to the casino about an hour later.
I gambled a little (broke even with three orange bar-bar-bars) and watched the 10 p.m. live music and dancing, followed by the floats in the ceiling and grabbed several more sets of beads.
I sat down at a nickel slot machine (at which I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was going on) but when I was done, they said I had three "five real fruit" symbols (and 2112 credits), so they gave me $111, of which I put away $110. With the other dollar I won another 258 coins, so the cashier gave me $13, I gave her $1 and put away another $10. This turns out to have been the most lucrative portion of the trip.
As I returned to the elevator area, I was required to show my room key, as it was after 10 p.m. Interesting. I was in my room at 11:11 p.m., watched a little CNN, took a shower and went to bed after pushing the "sleep" button on the clock radio and fading to sleep with KWNR.
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
I was awake at 4:03 a.m., again around 6:30 a.m. and decided to get up at 7:30 a.m. I listened to the radio for a while, then monitored CNN while dressing and packing.
Around 8:30 a.m., I checked voice mail again; there were no voice messages but three junk pages. Oh, well, at least I didn't get beeped in the middle of the night.
I took my bag down to the car, returned to the casino and walked over to Toscana's Deli for some breakfast. While the gal who took my order was very helpful, it took a full 15 minutes from the time I placed my order until my a simple breakfast sandwich was ready. And there were no other customers at the time.
I gambled a little and then went up to the room for one final sweep. When I was sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I went downstairs and checked out. It was a simple process and the young man was very polite. I'm sure I'll be staying at the Rio again.
I went up to the Desert Inn Super Arterial and east to Paradise Road to a Citibank branch, then north on Paradise to Karen and east to Eastern to Sahara to Las Vegas Harley-Davidson.
They had a large selection of new and used motorcycles for sale, as well as a large sales force on duty. I slowed but didn't stop at the boutique on my way to the bargain table. It turned out to be several tables full of stuff that looked like it had been ordered but never picked up. Mufflers, leather things, chrome parts, seats, etc. I couldn't find anything that I couldn't live without, but there were some real bargains there - if you needed any of it.
I left the dealer and drove south on Eastern to Flamingo and then west to Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip") and down to The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and parked in their garage.
After taking the garage elevator to the casino level, I went down an escalator and then around behind to the Guggenheim Las Vegas for their exhibit called "The Art of The Motorcycle." I bought a ticket for $15 and entered the exhibit.
For some reason I had originally thought that this was an art exhibit but it is actually a display of about 120 motorcycles, many one-of-a-kind, many historically important, some run-of-the-mill and some quite strange.
There was a French bicycle from about 1868 with a steam-powered engine. There was a large motorcycle (painted red and yellow) with seating for three and an attached sidecar with seating for another three. The Megola Sport (German, 1922) has its radial engine mounted in the front tire. As a Harley-Davidson enthusiast, I was pleased to see several H-Ds on display, including an original 1957 Sportster, a 1971 Superglide and several others.
One of the major sponsors of the exhibit was BMW, so they had a lot of bikes on display, but so did Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Indian (the original), and many others.
There was a lot to look at, and a lot of people have looked. The exhibit has been held over twice and is scheduled to remain at The Venetian for several more months.
After spending about an hour and a half looking at motorcycles, I left and wandered through The Venetian on my way out to the street.
I stopped and did a little gambling (successful), then walked out on to The Strip. I was accosted by several sidewalk flyer "distributors," several hispanic males and females attempting to give passing males various pieces of "literature" with pictures and phone numbers of "dancers" that you could summon to your hotel room. There is nothing quite like Vegas.
I got down to the Flamingo Hotel Casino, found their gift shop, and got a gift for a co-worker. I did a little gambling there, then wandered back north to the Imperial Palace and then back through the Venetian to the parking garage.
This night was to be spent at Palace Station Hotel & Casino, one of my favorites. I arrived at 3 p.m., walked directly to their front desk and (again, thankfully) found that my reservation was in order, although the clerk did not remember me from two and a half weeks prior (too bad).
This stay was to be "free," but they ran my American Express card anyway (in case I took the armoire home, I guess), which didn't bother such an experienced traveler.
I took the elevator up to the eleventh floor and found Room 11031 way down at the end of the hall, with a northern view, and called housekeeping for an extra blanket. I put away my clothes and stowed my toiletry items in the (very adequate) bathroom, then made a few notes and checked CNN. The blanket arrived about the time I was done, and I went down to the casino floor.
I did a little gaming, then went over to the Boarding Pass Redemption Center and got a complimentary ticket for the 7:30 p.m. show at Laugh Trax, their in-house comedy club.
After a little more gaming, I went up to my room and rested for a while, then came down around 7 p.m. to get a good seat the Laugh Trax.
The doors open at seven and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. The time between is used to seat everyone (small tables with baskets of popcorn) and to give the wait-staff a chance to take everyone's drink orders and then to deliver the drinks. I ordered pineapple juice with no ice, so I'm sure they knew that I meant business!
The show runs from 7:30 until about 8:45 p.m. (three comedians) and was enjoyable enough, although not everyone enjoys the same types of humor. Come to think of it, everyone else was having cocktails and I was only sipping juice - no wonder they had such a good time!
After a little more gaming, I stopped at the Promotion Center one more time and discovered that I could "swipe" my Boarding Pass at the restaurants in the casino, and they would deduct points for food. And during January, meals were half points, so I made plans to have an early buffet the next morning.
I got back to my room a little after 10 p.m., watched CNN for a while, took a shower, checked my voice mail (3 more junk pages) and went to sleep with KWNR.
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
I was awake after 4 a.m., after 5 a.m. and again at 6:47 a.m. I got up at 7:00 a.m., dressed and combed and went downstairs at 7:23 a.m. I went directly to The Feast, Palace Station's highly-rated buffet restaurant, where I swiped my Boarding Pass card and had a nice $4.99 breakfast "on them."
The signs had said the breakfast was 1,250 points but the receipt said it used 1,000 points, and I confirmed this later with another redemption center machine.
I went back up to the room to rest, then shaved and packed and was back down to the front desk to check out at 9:15 a.m. It was quick and easy (cost me exactly $1 - telephone surcharge) and I was out to the parking garage.
The car said it was 39 degrees F. and I agree, it was cold. I did a little touring about town, down Sahara to a Citibank (made a deposit!) and then into a Smith's Food and Drug for a bottle of juice.
I went up Decatur to Lake Mead Blvd. looking for the Andre Agasssi College Preparatory Academy, and found it at the corner of Lake Mead and Concord. The building is new and impressive, the kids wear uniforms and the ones that I could see from the street seemed to be well-behaved.
On my way down Martin Luther King Drive I passed the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club building, a little worse for wear, but nevertheless still standing, looking like it had hosted many after-school basketball games for the kids of the community.
I took Charleston Blvd. toward the west, where it intersects with Interstate 215 (The Las Vegas Beltway) and becomes NV 159 as it goes out into the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
It was just beautiful to see the colorful rock formations rising several hundred feet from the ground. The wild burros were not visible (probably too cold for them!) although I've seen them before.
NV 159 runs into NV 160 and you can either go west/north to Pahrump, NV (which I did not do) or go east, back toward Interstate 15 and the Vegas Valley. The road goes right by the community of Blue Diamond and then eventually back to civilization.
As I was going to stay at the Silverton Hotel & Casino on Blue Diamond Rd. at Interstate 15, I stopped across the street at the TA (Truckstops of America) to browsed the travelstore briefly.
It was still cold and quite windy out on the desert, but warm inside the building.
As always, there was a small casino attached, and I found a nickel machine and inserted five dollars. I played poker for a while until I got four twos and was rewarded with 800 coins. It took a while for them to come and fill the hopper, then a while to gather my coins, but I ended up with forty dollars and untold entertainment.
Though it wasn't quite 1:00 p.m. I drove over to Silverton and asked at the front desk if I could check in, and sure enough, they had some rooms ready for occupancy.
My reservation was in order and they assigned me a ground floor room at $29 and then discounted it 10% for showing my Silverton player card. The room was a long walk down two hallways. It was a big room with two queen beds, a very noisy heater/air conditioner, and $3 bottles of water in the small, crowded bathroom. The television system didn't get CNN (*gasp*) but the radio worked and the time was pretty close, so I figured it would do. I stowed my bag and put my clothes on hangars and went back to the car.
I went back down Interstate 15 and then took I-215 to Paradise Rd. (under the airport runways) to Citibank and then back to the Rio, where I parked in the Masquerade Garage. It was still cold so I parked on the top floor where the car could sit in the sun.
When I'd checked into the Rio on Monday, they had given me a bunch o' free stuff, including a discount coupon to see ventriloquist Ronn Lucas at his 3 p.m. show ("dark Tuesdays"). I went to the box office, paid my $6.95 (drink included), and got my ticket.
There was some time to wait so I went over to the High Limit Slots area and, just for fun, played a $5 slot machine for a little while. It was not tremendously rewarding but it was fun and passed the time. I put my money away and returned to wait in line.
The theater doors opened at about 2:15 p.m. Everyone was invited to trade their ticket for a drink (pineapple juice, no ice) and to find a seat. There was a still picture show on several large-screen television panels, mostly showing old vetriloquists like Señor Wences, Edgar Bergen, Jimmy Mahoney (?) and others, including (of course) Ronn Lucas.
Ronn mentioned that this was only the second week of his two-year engagement and that he was still working on the show. He performed with several characters and it was enteraining if a little uneven.
The show was over at about 4:30 p.m., and I went back out to Las Vegas Blvd. and drove south. I would be leaving early in the morning so I pulled into a Chevron Station near the airport and refueled. It was windy!
I got back to the Silverton a little before 5 o'clock and checked out their buffet. Dinner was $10.99 and featured Prime Rib. I enjoyed my vegetables, prime rib and a tiny piece of cheesecake. Lillian was an excellent waittress and kept my lemonade glass filled. I played a little Keno while eating; the Keno girl was a 40-something year old man.
After dinner I did a little gaming, raising my point count while not exactly losing my shirt. I went back to my room about 7:30 p.m., watched an NBC News White House tour, and went to bed about 9 o'clock with KWNR-FM.
Thursday, January 24, 2002
I was awake around midnight, around 4 o'clock and up at 4:54 a.m. I turned the heater on (did I mention it was noisy?) and started packing. There was no hurry, but since I was awake, I figured I might as well get out of town.
I checked voice mail and retrieved 3 junk pages.
I got down to the office about 5:20 a.m. and checked out of the hotel after a short wait while employees were talking to each other and not watching for hotel guests.
I had a final $10 in gambling money, so I took it to a bank of red-white-and-blue quarter slot machines by the front door, with a sign saying that Silverton would give 100% of the profits to the September 11th victims.
After a little play, I hit a blue 7, another blue 7 and a white 7, for 80 coins, so I stopped there, cashed in my $20 and went out to the car.
I left the property at 5:35 a.m. It was 34 degrees F. as I entered southbound I-15 and headed for the state line.
I passed into California at 6:14 a.m. at 696 miles into the trip. Another 20 minutes later I stopped at the Valley Wells Rest Area for some orange juice which was *ick* rotten, so I threw it away.
Another half hour later I pulled into a Jack-in-the-Box in Baker, where if memory serves, it was 31 degrees F. on The World's Tallest Thermometer. On leaving the drive-up window I had to carefully avoid a dog. The drive-up window guy said that the dog had been hanging around for a couple of days.
Isn't America a wonderful place? You have the freedom to open the door of your car and dump your animal in the middle of nowhere if it's inconvenient to keep around the house.
Sorry, I may have jumped to a conclusion. Hopefully the dog has been reunited with its family, or rescued and placed in a loving home.
I noted a whole bunch o' places out the side window as I went by: Newberry Springs, pistachio trees, the Lake Dolores water slides, the California Agricultural Inspection Station [1], Yermo, Peggy Sue's 50s Diner at Ghost Town Road.
[1] I usually tell them, "no fruits, no vegetables, no money," but they never laugh.
I went past Barstow at approximately 8 a.m., then Kramer Junction, then Boron. About 9 of the last 17 miles into Mojave is single-lane due to construction work on the highway. I passed through Mojave at 9 a.m., Tehachapi 16 minutes later, and at 9:25 I took the Keene offramp and went back up to the Tehachapi Loop.
I could see trains waiting north and south of the Loop to go through, but as I did not have a railroad radio receiver with me, I didn't know what was going on. There was a train stopped on the Loop, so I was able to see the 77 foot rise in the tracks as the front part of the train sat above the tunnel with the rear of the train going through the tunnel.
I went back to Keene and got back on westbound Highway 58 at 9:46 a.m.
It was only 20 minutes later that I pulled off at CA 184 ("Weedpatch Highway") one block to Brundage to a Chevron Station for fuel and a porcelain break. I then stayed on Brundage parallel to the freeway to Union Avenue (CA 204 and Business 99). It would have been better to get back on the freeway instead of stopping at all the lights.
I went north on Union and then west on 18th to Q Street and stopped at Thorp's Harley-Davidson in Bakersfield (if you know their web address, please let me know) to check the bargain table. I found a pair to cold-weather gloves on sale. The sales clerk remembered me as an every-six-months passerby.
I left westbound on 18th and then northbound on L Street. It would have been better to go north on M Street, easier to get back on CA 204 (Golden State Avenue). That merged right onto northbound CA 99.
I passed Famoso and pulled into Wendy's in Delano. Back on Hy 99 I passed Earlimart, Pixley, Tipton, Tulare, the International Agri Center (I'll have to stop there some time), Lindsay, Tagus and Exeter.
I saw a couple of billboards put up by the California Pistol and Rifle Association, with a photograph of a bunch of Americans (all races, ages, etc.) with the legend "Society is safer when criminals don't know who's armed."
In Visalia I took Betty Drive to the western frontage road to Visalia Harley-Davidson (one of my favorites) where I found a supplemental manual for my 1996 Road King on the bargain table for 1/3 price.
Back on Hy 99 I passed Traver, Kingsburg, Selma, Fowler, Fresno, Sanger, CA 41, CA 180, Madera and CA 145.
I usually turn west on CA 152 but this time decided to continue north to check another dealer. I passed Hy 152 at 1:25 p.m. and Chowchilla a few minutes later. There was a billboard for the Merced dealer that said "take V Street" but I never saw a "V Street" offramp.
Near Atwater I pulled off the highway at Applegate Road, made a U-turn in the CHP office parking lot, then checked my map. I went back to Merced and there was a "V Street" ramp coming southbound, and I saw the H-D sign, so I pulled into Yosemite Harley-Davidson on Mc Swain Road at the corner of CA 140 and X Street in Merced.
It was the middle of the day so there was not much going on. There are two buildings, one appears to be Sales and Service and the other appears to be Motorclothes. Nobody greeted me as I walked into either building. At least I can say I've been there.
I got back on Hy 99 going south and carefully noted the billboard; it said "take V Street - CA 140." I had seen the Hy 140 exit but did not know that was the same as V Street, I guess a truck had blocked my view. Oh, well, I'll know for next time.
A few miles later I turned south on CA 59 so as to shave some time off the trip.
I passed a sign on a church that said "If you don't want the fruits of sin, stay out of the Devil's orchard." I wasn't sure if that was specific to their orchard or just good advice in general.
I passed through the little town of El Nido but I missed most of if because I blinked. However, it would be a good place to get an "E" city if you're doing the Harley Owners Group's ABCs of Touring. (But that's another story.)
Hy 59 took me to CA 152 and I turned west, then got into Los Banos a short while later. I continued straight through and passed under Interstate 5 just before 2 p.m.
I passed CA 33, then San Luis Dam, Casa De Fruta, CA 156 and stopped at a Wendy's in Gilroy at 3:36 p.m.
I got back on U.S. 101 going north and got stuck behind a pea-brain in a grey Mercedes who insisted upon hogging the fast lane, regardless of blinking lights and honking horns and people passing on the right. What a jerk!
The rest of the trip was uneventful and I got to my driveway at 4:26 p.m., after about 11 hours on the road and 1250 miles in four days. Another pleasant trip.