A Road Trip {Wore}

Last Wednesday I went on a road trip. Alone. It was for work, but still I had to travel three plus hours to the Bay Area in my car alone. Can we talk about how rare this is? Alone time is scarce around these parts. It's something to behold. Other than the four thirty call time I can't really say there was a down side. Other than the fact that I was hyper aware of the clock and that any lateness on my part would get me kicked out of the mandatory meeting, I was actually looking forward to some alone time.

Five thirty am is no joke.
Especially when you know you are about to hit the road.

For my trip I downloaded an audio book. It's just a mystery series I've been listening to for years. I found them when I worked at IRS and have listened to every book in the series so far. It's very clean, and really quirky, but I really do enjoy them. Plus the self proclaimed detective is a baker, so the books are full of great dessert recipes. 
I made some pit stops along the way. Starbucks twice. Once for another bottle of water and a protein pack, then again before the meeting for an iced tea. Since I only drink caffeine on special occasions (because of adrenal fatigue), I figured a road trip in the car alone was occasion enough. 
It was all going smoothly until I hit 580 and came to a complete stop. As in my car was in park on a major freeway. What the... So I called my friend who actually travels those parts monthly and asked her for the CHP info. Instead of giving me the info, she kept me company while I waited a full 20 minutes for the traffic to get moving again. Then she stayed on the phone with me until I got to my destination. We don't get to talk much anymore, so it was super enjoyable and almost a luxury that we were both in the car, alone, for almost an hour so we could catch up. Another perk of a road trip don't you think?

My outfit of the day.
Yes I traveled in a dress, it wasn't as bad as one would think.

Thankfully I left my house in plenty of time, so I wasn't late for my meeting. I was so worried because if I got there late and wasn't allowed in, I'd have to make the trip all over again. And while the road trip had so far proved positive. I didn't want to make a habit of going to the Bay Area weekly.
I showed up to the meeting overdressed. This is a habit of mine. There is a story I will tell at a later time called "The Asshole in the Dress". Basically I'm always the asshole in the dress. No bother. I've been told it's better to be over dressed than under dressed, and when my Boss said that the dress code was business, I told her I didn't speak that language anymore. It's true, I haven't wore a suit in years, or a blazer for that matter. So I kind of panicked when she said, "business", as in other managers and sales leads would be wearing suits. Crap. So I found an old dress, an old blazer, and some tights. It may seem crazy to wear a dress in the car for a three hour plus road trip, but believe me when I say I was so comfortable. The tights were so soft and did not feel like they were cutting me in half at all. In fact it felt just like I was wearing leggings. And while it did rain for most of my trip in the bay, I didn't get wet or water logged at all. When I got to the meeting and figured out that some of my peers had worn jeans, I ditched the blazer for a cardi. Still, I'm pretty sure they all thought I was the asshole in the dress. Like I said, I usually am. 
Once my meeting was over, I grabbed an eleven dollar salad that was worth six, and then jumped back on 580. Bye bye Bay area. I picked at the salad all the way home, thankful for the protein pack that was well worth it's price tag. Then when I reached my half way point, I stopped at Target to pee, and to buy dryer sheets. Because I knew if I didn't buy those dang dryer sheets I would regret it later. I also bought a dollar spot puzzle and coloring book for the girls. I knew they were missing me.
After an extremely long day I got home at four thirty. I immediately changed my clothes and got dinner started, knowing that if I sat down for one moment, my kids would be eating gold fish for dinner. But trust me, once dinner was done, and we were fed, I sat my ass on the couch and watched TV. I even fell asleep before I was ready. All in a days work, right?
I'd like to say that I'm ready to do it all over again, but I'm not. I was so exhausted and my body was so tired that I'm pretty sure that's why I was so sick over the weekend. I'm sure the caffeine and lack of sleep didn't help my immune system either. But there is something to be said for making the most of six hours in the car with a book, a Starbucks, and some much needed alone time.