The Drive from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

My drive to Amarillo couldn't have been smoother. We stopped once for lunch and another time for a potty break. We arrived in plenty of time to celebrate (our fast driving and my parents' anniversary) at one of JR's favorite restaurants The Big Texan. This is a slice of chocolate cake.

After such a good day the day before, my parents headed back to their house and I was for sure the 6 hour drive to Denver would be nothing.

I was wrong.

I'm pretty sure Colorado was throwing everything at me to not welcome me back. Now I understand that winters are tough here, so they need to get all the road repairs done in the summer. But really, does every road in Colorado need to be repaired right now?

Apparently so.

Cause here we are waiting for the Follow Me Car (I know they're called "pilot cars", but they usually have "follow me" written on the back, so that's what we call them) for 1 hour and 21 minutes. Let me repeat that in case you missed it. Here we are waiting for the Follow Me Car for one hour and twenty one minutes. Oh, and did I mention the closest food or bathroom was 50 miles away? And it was lunchtime? And I had 3 kids and a dog in the car? And I was by myself?

You can imagine my dread and horror when I happened upon yet another Follow Me Car. (My 7 minute wait there seemed like a vacation after what I'd been through earlier.)

And since there don't seem to be any passing lanes on Colorado Hwy 287, I was then stuck behind every oversized load 18-wheeler, giant RV spending their kids' inheritance, and Mystery Machine van trying to make their cars run on vegetable oil. Guess what? None of these vehicles drive over 50 miles per hour!

Let's just say my parents 9-hour-leisurely-pace-with-stopping-for-a-nice-lunch drive got them home before my "6 hour" drive got me to Denver.