I got started early this morning. I was up and out of the hotel by 7:30 AM Central Time. I was on the east side of Nashville so I had to drive through the morning rush hour to get to the other side of the city. I learned that you should never get a hotel on the east side of a city if you are traveling west early in the morning. I sat in the rush hour traffic for a good 20 minutes. I thought the DC rush hour was bad. Nashville is just as bad. It didn't set me back at all. I just went with it. When I got on the other side of Nashville and headed west on I-40 the traffic thinned out and it was smooth sailing. About an hour into the drive my cell phone rang. I NEVER get cell phone calls so it surprised me. It was my good friend David checking in to see how the trip was going. That was a welcomed surprise. We chatted for awhile while he was stuck in traffic going to work in DC. David is from Oklahoma so he knows this drive pretty well. He knew exactly where I was. After the phone call I continued on my way. The driving was uneventful again today. I made it through Memphis, across the Mississippi River, and into Arkansas by 11:15 AM. I was making really good time. But crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas was a change in weather and road conditions. It was cloudy and there was a light rain on and off all the way through Arkansas. The roads between Memphis and Little Rock were awful! These must be the worst roads I've ever traveled on (and I don't travel that often). There is lots of road construction all around Little Rock. The driving was slow too. It was just after lunch time so maybe there were lots of people returning to work, I don't know. Since I had made such good time getting past Little Rock by 1:30 I decided to continue on. I checked the map and decided I would find a hotel between Little Rock and Fort Smith. I watched the bill boards looking for a hotel that advertised free high speed internet access. I didn't really care what the rooms were like. I have to have my connection! Sad, I know. I found a Comfort Inn in Russellville, Arkansas. They have free high speed internet connections in every room. It's not wireless but that's okay. I have ethernet so it's not a problem. And on top of that, the room is much nicer then the one I had last night. It's newer and cleaner.

Once I got checked in and brought all my things into the room, I was ready to have something to eat. I could see a Sonic from my hotel window so I decided to go there. It is within walking distance but it was raining so I drove over there. I haven't been to a Sonic since I was in Oklahoma in 1992 with David. We don't have Sonics in Northern Virginia so it's a treat to get to go to one here. I remember when I went to Sonic with David back in 1992 they had a really good berry lemonade. So I had to get it this time. It was so good. Brought back some good memories of that trip with David. I of course had a burger and fries with the lemonade. Even though Sonic is fast food, it's cool because they have these drive up ordering stations. You just drive up, press the button, they take your order, and in just a few minutes they bring you the food. You can eat it right in your car or take it with you. I ate it there. It was nostalgic.

To this point I've driven 1070 miles. Today alone I've driven 424.8 miles. Tomorrow I will have no problem finishing the 270.4 I'll need to drive to get to my hotel in Oklahoma City. It should only take me a few hours. I should be able to sleep a little later in the morning. I can't check into my hotel until 3:00 PM and I won't be meeting Shawn at his house until 6:00 PM so I'll have plenty of time to make it a relaxing drive. I'm really getting excited to see Shawn. I haven't seen him since last September when he moved to Oklahoma. Some people I've talked to told me not to get my hopes up, that things will not be the same as they were when we were together. I know that. I don't expect them to be the same. We aren't a couple. We aren't dating. We're just two very good friends who haven't seen each other in a long time. Yes, I know, I talk about Shawn and how much I'm still in love with him and want to be with him but at the same time I realize that's impossible. He knows how I feel and reads it here. We talk about it. I know that at some point we will both move on and find other men to fall in love with and we will eventually lose touch. I just hope it's not in the next 3 days.

In yesterday's post I talked about the great visit I had with my father. I received many comments and e-mails about how lucky I am to have developed that type of relationship with my father. I agree with all of you. I'm a very lucky man to have a father such as mine. I know some guys (and maybe gals) have strained relationships with their parents because of coming out, etc. I'm lucky to have good relationships with both my parents. I plan to work at keeping those relationships healthy and current.

I'll post another vacation update tomorrow when I get to Oklahoma! Stay tuned!