Day One: Petaluma to Blythe

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'! I'm not in a big rig or a black Trans Am, but my truck is black and I got a couple of dogs in the car, so just call me Bandit. Okay, maybe Snowman.

Well the first day was fairly boring. I left Petaluma around 20 after 1pm and pulled into Blythe, CA at 11pm. I planned a 10 hour first day and shaved off almost 30 minutes. The dogs did fine and I almost drove another two hours to Phoenix, but I didn't. I figured I should play it safe and get some rest. I did nine and a half hours with no problem today, so 12 hours tomorrow should be a breeze. I drove around LA to avoid the traffic and, predictably, I got lost and almost ran out of gas. I drove thru 4 small towns on RT 138 near Lancaster and did not see ONE gas station. Huh? There were a lot of houses and plenty of people, but no stores or gas stations for almost 40 miles. Of course, my cell had no reception as I flirted with disaster. I was sweating there for about 20 miles. Thankfully I stumbled across a Mom and Pop gas station in Elizabeth Lake. It was dark when I turned off I5 to take 138 so I do not know if what I drove by was pretty or not.

So, here I am in Blythe. Its a great town; 18 motels, 10 fast food restaurants and an Indian Casino. I'm staying at the Best Value Inn because all the other motels in town are full. Huh? Huh? I didn't realize this place was so popular. I can't wait to see it during the day. Maybe I will see what all the hub-bub is all about. So far, I'm not impressed. The water that comes out of the sink is tinted brown with what I hope is rust and the pleasant fellow behind the counter at check-in seemed highly annoyed that I came in. Judging by how fat he was I probably interrupted his 11pm ho-ho binge. I usually don't make fun of anyone for being fat or ugly or "special", unless they treat me like shit. Then, as far as I'm concerned, they are fair game. They can make fun of my uni-brow or my stinky feet if they want. I don't care. A smile and have a "good night" would be nice after 10 hours in a pick-up with two dogs that kept floating air-biscuits. Geez...

Tomorrow I will shoot for Odessa, Texas. If you watch the NBC show Heroes, you would know that Claire the cheerleader lives there. I feel compelled to go there. It is my destiny. She is in danger. I need to save her. Save the cheerleader, Save the world. I hope the Best Western there isn't packed. I'd sure like to take a shower with clean, clear water instead of non-brown poop water.