BACK TO WHERE I STARTED

Now that I'm ready for the next round with our kind loving neighbors to the north with 5 meters of connecting cables, I'm going back to the Tale of the Trip. In fact I'm going right back to where I should have started at the beginning, with Susie. And here she is, our Susie.
I discovered Susie on my beloved A Team List. She's a proper Murdockian as am I as well. She lives in a smallish city in the north western wilds of Maryland and has an issue or two or more with the world around her. She's on meds for a few of those issues, but on she's also a bright, funny, perceptive gal who loves doing things once she overcomes her fear of trying the new. Knowing that her dream was to meet Dwight Schultz, another A Team fan and I decided to take her to England to meet him at a convention that was eventually cancelled for reasons beyond the organizer's control. We went anyway and had a delightful week in London and a noncon in Bournemouth where about 25 of us from that list and other groups met up for the most fantastic day imaginable. Susie became a jet setter! And YES, she did meet her idol at a later date with the help of another A Team fan.
Knowing that travel even in the States is way beyond her means financially,
I invited her to join me on my jaunt, and off she flew to Maine to meet up with me for my niece's high school graduation and the trip of a lifetime across the continent. Right, that's Susie. Oh, she's also a bingo addict. Back to where I left off.
We left Jags in North Carolina and headed into Alberto:a wanna be hurricane and drove for 4 or 5 hours until I decided I just couldn't go on. We didn't get very far because it was slow going, so we stopped for the night at the most annoying Days Inn. By morning Alberto had decided not to mess with me and dissipated. Onward to Florida through South Carolina (a most useless state) it annoyed me no end, through Georgia, and on into Florida where I eventually decided to stop and eat. Poor Susie was a victim of my insane eating habits and was starving by the time I decided to stop. Florida decided to mess with me and there was a sign pointing to a rest area that turned out to be a strip mall in some disgusting town. "FRAUD" I yelled and cussing all the way got back on I 95 where there was a proper rest area a mile on. We eventually found an Olive Garden where we stopped for a proper meal, and wouldn't you know it? They were out of what we had both ordered. The manager was most contrite and told us to order anything else we wanted on the house. I was just fine with bowl of weeds, but Susie ended up with a great meal of fish or something. As we were in Florida, I wasn't about to stop before we found Boynton Beach and a motel. 12 hours after leaving that miserable excuse for a Days Inn, we found an even worse motel in Boynton Beach and checked in. Our High Tech friend (me) turned the air conditioner on ....to heat! The next day, the motel gal sorted it, but the place was still crap.
Susie and I took off visit the Boynton Beach Bitch (Dad's widow) and managed to surprise her. If you didn't see her face when the realized who was standing at her door, you haven't seen the color white. I was about as rude as I can get and only answered he questions in short curt sentences. We left her wondering why I bothered to visit and that has to be the most dastardly thing I've ever done. I was gleeful afterwards. She was subjected to an icy explanation about my brother and told in no uncertain terms that he's just fine and that how he lives is none of her business. She really is a bitch, but, that issue deserves a whole book and we were on a fun trip. After that visit, we went looking for a beach, but, like the Boynton Beach Bitch, the town lived up to it's name and there was a long beach that was accessible only to residents. We drove around town for a while and ate a nice restaurant close to the motel. There were baby alligators/lizards there and Susie took pictures of them.
The next morning we took off for Miami, and I thought I'd do the smart thing and check out the airport before finding a motel. Smart? Not really. I got a bit a lost, but did learn that it would be easy enough to figure out in the morning. We eventually found the motel I wanted and, wouldn't you know it? It was the biggest rip off of all. The room was nice enough, but cost a fortune, as did everything else there. We checked out early and decided to explore Miami before the flight to Reno and look for the sea shells Susie had promised to find for a friend. We found the public beach in Miami and Susie went looking for shells, but didn't find any. We took the car (a Saturn Vue that I quite enjoyed) back and got the plane for Reno with a stop in Phoenix where Susie's bag and my wheely got off for a quick look around. I know this because I saw my wheely getting back on the plane. Of course, Susie's bag didn't At Reno, we reported Susie's lost bag and she handled it like a trooper even though she was very upset. Our wheely drivers were ver sweet and we had a fun time with them, thanks to my Oxeegen emergency nonsense. We picked up the next car-a Pontiac and headed for Winnemucca, but part way there, stopped for the night at a nice motel, and went the rest of the way in the morning. Nevada's I 80 W is quite a highway. 75 mph speed limit, nice, with prisons along the route that have signs warning against picking up hitch hikers or stopping at all. I can't imagine any escaped inmate making it to the road alive through that terrain. Eventually we pulled into Winnemucca and called Jeannie who actually found us from my description of where we were. She found us a cheap local flea trap, and we settled in before going to eat, and seeing the sights in Greater Downtown Winemucca, and going to Jeanie's (she does not live in the middle of nowhere, it's at the END of nowhere) but absolutely beautiful. Susie spotted a Bingo sign right off and after checking out times etc realized she'd have to wait until Tuesday to play.I'll leave the story for now because I have to check my notes. Winnemucca was wonderful and I'm determined to go back, but right now, I have to get ready for work.