We continued through Texas towards the New Mexico boarder.
The drive was mellow and filled with the beautiful scenery of the Southwest.
I’d been to New Mexico. But, I had never driven through New Mexico and I had not been to Fort Sumner. Pardon my ignorance: Judging by the name, I am assuming that Fort Sumner has a military history. If you know any of the history, then please comment regarding what you know. I am interested and, perhaps, some of my readers are as well.
We were passing through Fort Sumner and my boyfriend wanted to stop long enough to get some breakfast. We drove by the Rodeo Grill and turned around to park and go in to see what breakfast food was being served.
I liked the Rodeo Grill a lot. The place had a down home feel to it. The décor was interesting too – a lot to see – and the service was good. But, what made stopping at the Rodeo Grill interesting for us was meeting the cashier/waitress/owner. She was from San Juan Capistrano.
My boyfriend and I live in Southern California. So, here we were, in a small town in New Mexico, having another one of those “coincidences” that seem to happen on a regular basis when I’m with my boyfriend.
My boyfriend and I walked outside with our breakfast burritos and sat on a picnic bench in front of the Rodeo Grill. We had to talk about the cashier/waitress/owner at least for a few minutes. I said, “Wow, she’s from San Juan Capistrano.”
My boyfriend responded, “Yes, what are the odds?”
I agreed, “I know. I mean, we drive into a small town in New Mexico, go into a small road-side restaurant and we meet someone from Southern California!”
We both laughed. He added, “She probably doesn’t have many Southern Californians walking into her place to eat.”
We finished eating our food, got back in the truck and drove through New Mexico and into Arizona. We passed by Flagstaff and saw some snow on ground.
I was kind of in a zone and didn’t connect the dots on this until my boyfriend pointed it out to me. There was snow on the ground and it was July!
When he put it that way, I woke up.
We continued through Arizona and headed into Nevada. My boyfriend had a plan:
Laughlin here we come!
“Cool,” I thought. I was getting excited and told my boyfriend, “I have not been to Laughlin.”
“I’m looking forward to parking the truck and walking up and down the strip,” he said.
“Yes, that sounds fun,” I said smiling.
.
.
.
A few hours later I started to get concerned. As the day unfolded I was getting more and more uncomfortable, physically. My bladder was starting to feel like it was going to explode – even after we stopped and went to the bathroom.
Ugh. I can’t tell you how bummed I was getting. I was thinking, “Oh, no. I can’t be getting a urinary tract infection. Not now. Not while we’re on the road. Not while we’re heading towards Laughlin and a fun night out on the town.”
I had not had a urinary tract infection in many, many years. I knew that if certain symptoms persisted and other symptoms developed, then, it was certain that I had one.
They did.
By the time we got to Laughlin I told my boyfriend what was happening and that I was in a lot of discomfort.
I was hoping that there was an urgent care facility in Laughlin.
Nope.
My boyfriend drove me to the nearest emergency room, which was 10 miles away. It seemed like an eternity driving to the hospital, down a dark road, not sure when our turn was coming.
I’m glad I have good health insurance.
I was in the ER until after 12:30am.
We drove to the nearest pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled.
Then, we drove back to the hospital.
Why?
Because when you’re driving around in an 18-wheeler, parking is always a consideration. In stead of driving around whatever area we were in to find a parking spot big enough for the truck, my boyfriend decided to head back to the hospital and park for the night in a remote corner of a parking lot adjacent to the hospital.
By the time we woke up in the morning there were several guys washing cars in the parking lot.
Yes, you’re correct.
We were parked in a parking lot behind an office building and there was a car washing service, in the lot, for people who worked in the building.
My boyfriend had to ask the car washing guys if they could move a few of the cars in order for him to get the truck out of the lot …
Everything worked out fine in the end. But, wow, what a night!
Oh, and if you do not know this already, Laughlin is beautiful at night.
I hope to go back there sometime, with my boyfriend, to simply walk down the strip holding his hand.
:-)
On day 6 we drove 798 miles.
