the long road home: 4 days of driving & a sisterly visit

Albuquerque to Oklahoma City

Sunday, October 29, 2023: This morning, Mike flew home so he could be at work Monday morning and I packed up the car and began my 4-day solo drive home to Virginia.

Mike had taken the Toyota RAV to Jiffy Lube while we were in Albuquerque because the service light came on and he wanted everything to be in order before I drove the four days home starting Sunday morning. At Jiffy Lube they had changed the oil and topped off the air in the tires and rotated them so I should have been set.

Less than an hour after I’d left Albuquerque on I-40, it started sleeting and I looked at the outdoor temperature. It was 29°F degrees and ice was forming on my windshield. Suddenly the tire pressure light came on, so I pulled off at the first stop I could find. There I used the tire gauge and found all four tires had tire pressure of around 35. Of course I was out in the middle of nowhere and no mechanics were to be found on a Sunday, so I continued driving. At the next couple of towns I stopped to look for a Jiffy Lube but none were to be found. Every time I stopped I measured the tire pressure and it hadn’t changed. I figured I would keep stopping and measuring and if nothing changed I’d wait till I got to Oklahoma City or elsewhere to check them. In Amarillo, Texas a Walmart Superstore was open, so I took my car there to have them check the tires. Again, after having driven for 4 hours, the tire pressure was unchanged. The mechanic said maybe the sensor wasn’t working properly, but if I wanted that checked, he’d need to write up a ticket and I’d have to wait a while till they could get to me.

All of this was very time consuming so my trip to Oklahoma City took much longer than I hoped. The wind was blowing so hard when I stopped at a gas station and opened the door, the wind almost blew off the car door! This was my drive today: sleet, wind, fog and grey skies and constant worry about having a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I made it with all tires intact but who knew what the morning would bring.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Oklahoma City, North.

Steps: 3,643; Miles 1.54. Drove 561.2 miles. Weather Albuquerque: Hi 71°, Lo 28°. Oklahoma City: Hi 40°, Lo 31°. Rain/sleet.

Oklahoma City to Murphysboro, Illlinois

Monday, October 30: It was a long boring drive today, mostly through Oklahoma and Missouri.

After driving two long days from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City and then to Murphysboro, IL, I arrived at my sister Stephanie’s house where we ate sushi she’d bought from Kroger and toasted each other with beers. 🍻

We binge watched several episodes of The White Lotus, which I’d seen but she hadn’t.  It was fun to see the miniature Christmas village and the Halloween village she had created, much like what I saw at the Tinkertown Museum in Albuquerque.

Steps: 3,462; Miles 1.47. Drove 572.5 miles. Weather Murphysboro, IL: Hi 47°, Lo 24°. Mostly cloudy.

Halloween in Murphysboro, Illlinois

Tuesday, October 31: I spent Halloween day with Steph. We went out for a delicious lunch at Harbaugh’s Cafe (I had a delicious Earthquake sandwich). When the waitress asked which sides I’d like, I said “cottage cheese,” which shocked Stephanie. “Who orders cottage cheese?” she said, shaking her head. Hey, cottage cheese is good for you, or so I hear!

I dragged her shopping with me to maurices, where I bought 3 flannel shirts. 

Later we went out to Thai Taste in Carbondale. Steph had decorated her house to the max for Halloween (even though she only gets a few trick-or-treaters) and we’d spent time in the afternoon at Walmart buying Halloween candy that she wouldn’t be tempted to eat after the night was over. However, we were enjoying our couple of beers and our meal so much at Thai Taste that we lost track of time and forgot about the trick-or-treaters. She saw on her security camera (on her phone while we were in the restaurant) one little group of trick-or-treaters ring her doorbell and turn away disappointed. Sadly she was left with all the Halloween candy since we’d missed the little action there was!

While in the Walmart, we also bought some delicious red velvet cupcakes which we downed when we returned to her house. I couldn’t eat my second one after dinner, so I left it with her, much to her chagrin.

That evening, we watched more episodes of The White Lotus, all except the last episode.

Steps: 5,783; Mi. 2.45. Drove 0 miles. Weather Hi 47°, Low 24°. Sunny.

Murphysboro, Illinois to Abingdon, Virginia

Wednesday, November 1: The next day, I drove 8 hours to Abingdon, VA, mostly through the interminably long Tennessee.

I stayed at Country Inn and Suites by Radisson in Abingdon.

Steps: 2,898; Miles 1.23. Drove 520.4 miles. Weather: Murphysboro Hi 47°,  Lo 26°. Abington Hi 41°, Lo 22°.

Abingdon, Virginia to Oakton, Virginia (home at last!)

Thursday, November 2: Finally, I drove another 6 hours on Thursday and finally made it home at 3:20 p.m. after 4 days of driving on my own. My tire pressure light was on for the entire trip, but my tire pressure never changed and I never stopped again to check it after Amarillo, Texas.

Luckily I made it home in time to see the remaining fall foliage.

Here’s my Polarsteps map showing my long drive home and our entire Tex-New Mex Road Trip (+ Atlanta).

Steps 5,102; Miles 2.16. Drove 344 miles. Weather Abingdon Hi 51°, Lo 24°. Home: Hi 52°, Lo 30°.