A Blessing in Disguise

Well, today turned out a little differently, to say the least, than Mom and I had expected (isn't that how it always goes when you try to plan a trip!). Instead of ending up in Amarillo this evening, we are marooned in Moriarty, New Mexico. The day started out fine--we had a good time going along Route 66, enjoying the ambiance of it all. We stopped at places like the Continental Divide even though it was FREEZING outside. We ate lunch at this rustic Route 66 joint in Moriarty, then took off for Texas. About 20 miles outside of Moriarty, my car (named "Stryder") started acting really weird. I couldn't believe it because Stryder is seriously so dependable. Well, the engine started to overheat, so we pulled off at this funny place called Clines Corners--which, even though it is a little tiny place in the middle of nowhere, has very posh-sounding street names like "Yacht Club Drive" and "Country Club Drive." Thank heavens for AAA--and for the GPS so we knew where we were! We made some phone calls (surprisingly we got cell phone reception out there), and the AAA people sent someone from Moriarty to help us out. He tried checking some things, but the engine was still pretty hot, so we loaded Stryder up on the tow truck, Mom and I piled in, and we took off back to Moriarty. By this time it was about 4:30 in the afternoon--too late for the auto mechanics to look at Stryder today, so we are stuck only 176 miles from where we started this morning! At first we were kind of upset--especially because Stryder is usually such a trusty car--but then when we heard the day's weather report, we realized that maybe this was all a blessing in disguise. There have been tornadoes all over Texas today, and had we made it as far as we planned, we would have driven right into all of it. The car people were really nice, and staying along Route 66 is cool anyway, so it's all good. We decided that we won't make any plans for tomorrow--we'll just hope that Stryder is okay and we'll see how far we make it. The best trips are the ones that don't turn out like you planned anyway, right?