Monday, October 9, 2017

Blogorado, Day 5 - homeward bound


They do say that all good things must come to an end.  Sadly, Blogorado 2017 drew to a close this morning, with a final gathering for breakfast at the venue that's become known to most of us as the Obligatory Cow Reference (due to its name).  Our numbers weren't as great as the day before, because several people left yesterday in order to get back to work on Monday;  but there were enough of us to keep the waitress running hard.  I indulged my inner glutton with huevos rancheros, with a side of breakfast steak.  Delicious!

Miss D. and I were among the first to depart, shivering in a chilly 38° (F) morning with a stiff breeze blowing from the north and west.  It warmed up rapidly as we headed south, so that by the time we hit Amarillo, it was in the mid-50's.  (I was wondering why our fuel economy was hovering at almost 38 miles per gallon, far better than expected, until I got out of the car at a gas station in Amarillo.  That's when I found out that a very strong tail wind had been blowing us merrily along.  I daresay, if I'd been able to erect a sail on the car's roof, we'd have made about the same time without the aid of the engine!)  Turning east-south-east to head for home, the tail wind became a cross-wind that made driving tricky for a while.  It was still very strong, so much so that most of the wind turbines near Amarillo had been shut down;  but it eased off as we drew nearer to our destination.  By the time we got home, the wind was mild, and temperatures were in the mid-70's.  I fear our recent hosts are still shivering at around freezing point tonight.

All the fun and games (plus driving there and back, and to and fro during our stay) caught up with me this afternoon.  I had to take one of my stronger pain-killers when we got home, to get my injured back under control, and flopped into bed immediately after supper to rest for a while and let it take effect.  I'm feeling more human now, although still a little dehydrated after several days of sun and fun.  I have a liter of water at my side as I type these words, and I think I'll drink most of it before I go back to bed.

Normal blogging will resume tomorrow morning, God willing.  Thanks for your patience while I've been out and about.

Peter

9 comments:

MrGarabaldi said...

Hey Peter;

Glad you and Miss D made it back from Blogorado and thank you for posting all the stories.

LindaG said...

Have a safe trip home. God bless.

Anonymous said...

Nice tail wind ... helped with expenses. I'm guessing that same 'Texas norther' will make it into south Texas today, temperatures to fall down to a bone chilling mid 80's :^).

Glad to hear both of you made it home safe - a little down time to recover is a good idea. Hope Ashbutt didn't cause any troubles while the Boss was gone.

Elizabeth said...

I am SO tempted to ask if you would like a driver for next year ;-)
Though I fear my only contribution to the festivities would be homemade fudge on demand, and an intense interest in shooting!

Farmmom said...

Elizabeth, LOL. That is one of the most inventive ideas for an invite I've gotten so far. I have to give you major points. Sadly we are a very small town with very limited facilities. Point in fact we ended up putting 3 guest up in my son's camper trailer this year. I would love to be able to invite more folks to Blogorado but with things the way they are it's just not possible at this time. Though I will keep you in mind if things change. I giggled quite merrily over your comment.

Tal Hartsfeld said...

Did you guys come down via U.S. 287 by any chance?

Peter said...

@Tal Hartsfeld: Yes, we did.

Anonymous said...

It flurried in Amarillo after sundown, just enough to make the windchill feel even worse without accomplishing anything. I walked out of rehearsal, looked around, and thought "Geee, thaaaaanks." It was 36 at the house this AM.

LittleRed1

Sam L. said...

Wind turbines: Don't work when not enough wind; have to shut them down when too windy.