Has anyone ever driven 16 hours before?

I stumbled into my condo around 8:30 yesterday morning after having driven through 5 states in a staggering 16 hour period. I DO NOT recommend this. At one point I felt as if I would have been safer had I pounded a bottle of Bacardi 151 then gotten behind the wheel. When you're so tired that you're actually feeling sad about the suicide rate of bugs on your windshield and tempted to swerve into 'just one' construction barrel...it's time to pull over. Alas, I pushed forward, fueled by some liquid speed substance my dad concocted (that probably could have landed me in jail had I been stopped), and a hearty dose of pride. As if this may come up in a conversation one day - "Hey, has anyone ever driven 16 hours before with two dogs, one cd, and a dead iPod?" "Funny story, I did!" "Wow, you are one hell of an American!" ::applause and some high fives all around:: Probably not.

The trip was wonderful. Basically just sat around the pool drinking beer and margaritas for 3 days. My dad's brothers and two of my cousins were there as well. These guys are hilarious. One of my uncle's includes at least a few comments regarding his 'big arms' in most stories and encourages me to repeat that little fact when I'm talking about him later. My dad's other brother is a big kid at heart, turning every activity into some sort of competition. You can't just dive off the diving board, you have to give it a clever name then execute and await judgement. I was quite impressed with his 'double axle circumvent 3000.' Middle-aged men cannon ball contests are highly entertaining, especially when they are dead serious about your critique. One of the funniest nights was when my dad brought out his new cowboy hat (I swear he goes hunting in Texas once and the guy thinks he's Walker Texas Ranger) and Uncle 'Big Arms' and Uncle 'Double Axle' took turns trying it on, walking the bow-legged walk and throwing out more than a few 'howdies, yes ma'ams, and I reckons.' Oh you silly Yanks! We're easily amused by Southern antics.

Now that I'm home I've got a million things to do before I'm gone again (in a couple weeks I'll be visiting my cousin in Michigan, followed by a 2-week jaunt to Europe!). However, my sleeping schedule is so off at the moment that I can't seem to function properly and my plans for the weekend seem to be taking priority over my bills, cleaning, laundry, etc. That's what Mondays are for! My AC is still on the fritz but this 70 degree weather is giving me chills compared to the 100 degree Alabama temps I recently battled. Will probably hold off on this minor inconvenience for another week or so. I've never been one to rush things.

Summerfest tonight, very excited. I've been dodging drunken idiots since it started, now it's my turn to dart into the road and pause in traffic. I swear, there should be a law that specifically states, if you are hit by a car while leaving Summerfest, heading to Water St., it's your responsibility (should you live) to pay for any damages to the vehicle and/or emotional suffering of the driver. I'm a pretty alert driver, but when the Summerfest drunks stagger out in swarms with alarming bursts of traffic dashing from all angles, there's only so much one can do. Not to mention the drunk morons driving out of Summerfest. Last time I checked you weren't allowed to take up both lanes or weave an exciting pattern all the way down Van Buren. I also think it might be frowned upon to stop at green lights then cut across two lanes to make your turn. Ah Summerfest, you will be sorely missed when you are gone, but you can be a real bitch sometimes.