Holy Crap!!

Captains Log

Day 3, 3/31/10

We're up even earlier today and head down for another delicious waffle breakfast. Mmmm. This one is delicious, though not as big of a spread as the night before. There was honestly, nothing left to steal for snacks later. We got our fill though and then got ready to head out.

9:02am: Leave the hotel and get some gas down the street. Gas was $2.71 for super unleaded and it cost us $16.00 to fill the tank.

9:57am: Oh my god! The stench of cow manure is so overwhelming that we thought we might vomit. Paula has never experienced this before.

12:32pm: We arrive in Nebraska!!

1:00pm: We stop at an Information Center to try and get a travel/hotel coupon book. They are out of them.

1:35pm: Stopped for gas in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is the capital city. Super unleaded was 2.65/gallon and it took $15 to fill. We later found out that the reason Super unleaded is cheaper than regular is because Nebraska is the corn state and Ethanol is made from corn. Super is full of Ethanol here.

We discovered two things about Nebraska while driving through. A) Nebraska has some good rock radio. B) Nebraska loves Joan Jett. Serious.

Oh, and the speed limit here is 75MPH!! This is awesome!!

3:46pm: Officially in Western Nebraska. I also realize this means we are only halfway through. Ugh!

4:30pm: We need gas again. We pull off in the middle of nowhere. Seriously. We pull off of I80 to this little Mom and Pop gas station/store with a Dairy Queen and that's all that is around for miles. There is one poor teenage boy running the gas station, general store and Dairy Queen. I told him he should get a raise. We get gas and blizzards. Gas is 3.09/gallon and we spend $20 to fill.

As we are pulling out of the gas station, we see a junkyard across the street. Or maybe just someone's yard who happens to be a hoarder. It looks like its got the normal junk of dead cars and refrigerators etc. Then we see it....a plane. A PLANE!! I make Paula stop so we can discuss this for a moment. As we get back on the interstate, we also see a giant boat in their side yard. Where the hell are we?!

5:10pm: TIME CHANGE! It is now 4:10pm and we are in Mountain Time. I hope this means TV goes back to normal.

4:47pm: I saw a camel. Though it may have been an Emu. Paula then points out that an Emu is a bird. So maybe it was a Llama. Whatever. I saw it.

We discovered that I80 is parallel to the original Oregon Trail. An entire discussion about how much that must have sucked to do with just a covered wagon and an ox ensues.

Saw a sign for Buffalo Bill's Ranch. Visions of Silence Of the Lambs danced in our heads and we decided against it.

We thought all of these cows we kept seeing were so cute. Paula had never seen so many cows. We especially loved seeing the baby cows. But the stench.....holy methane!

5:20pm: Our original destination to stop for the night was going to be Sydney, Nebraska. However, once we got there I refused to stop. I was afraid. I really think there may have been hill people. All I could think of was The Hills Have Eyes. We decided to keep going.

5:55pm: I played "air jug" to Devil Went Down To Georgia on the radio. Paula thought this was hilarious. I will mention that she played "air violin". Don't let her lie to you.

6:09pm: We arrive in Wyoming and are EXHAUSTED. We learn that Wyoming's motto is "Forever West" and their nickname is "The Equality State". Their nickname is BS. Ever hear of Mathew Sheppard? Look it up and tell me why the hell this is the equality state?

7:00pm: Checked into a Motel 6 in Cheyenne, $49. Staying in the capital city. We look up somewhere to get dinner and find this great steakhouse called Little Bear Inn. Its about 10 miles away. We freshen up and head over to the restaurant. The restaurant is out in the middle of the highway with nothing around. No other building, no lights, no anything. As we are walking up to the door of the restaurant, an older woman comes out and tells us they closed. I check the time to make sure we are there at a reasonable hour. She proceeds to tell us the following:

"The well ran out of water so we had to close early."

I'm sorry. What? Excuse me? Did you just say that you had to close your restaurant because THE WELL RAN OUT OF WATER?! WHERE ARE WE???? We walk back to the car and Paula bursts into laughter the second we get back in. She is dumbfounded that this actually happened. She tells everyone she can.

We end up going to Outback Steakhouse, which was recommended to us by the hotel clerk as a "great steakhouse." The waitress doesn't believe I am 21 and thinks my license is phony. She gives me beer anyways. Now, we have been driving for 11 hours. The original restaurant plan fell through. This jerkoff can't read a license and I'm pissed now. Paula keeps telling me to relax because the waitress is going to spit in all of my food.

Finally we get back to the hotel and pass out at 9:30pm. Never in my life have I fallen asleep so early.

Its been a long day.


Total mileage for Day 3: 745 miles

Total Driving Time for Day 3: 11 hours (without the time change. With it, only 10)

Total cost for Day 3: $108 approximately (We are not letting our gas go below 1/4 of a tank, just in case we don't see a gas station for awhile.)