I made it

After 19 hours of travel, two flights on four aircraft, an involuntary overnight in Minneapolis, and a 65 mile drive I made it to Mitchell, SD. I even had enough time to change and shower before my meetings. So it all worked out.

There are some relaxing things you can do in New York, Boston, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago, and other major cities around the country. But sometimes I just need that unique experience that comes from a smaller town.

Tonight I, I wandered to the other side of the freeway and sat down to dinner at Merlin's. It's one of those 24 hour restaurants in a truck stop.

I climbed out of the car to the rumbling chorus of a dozen 18-wheelers parked at the Pilot truck stop.

Inside I sprawled across a large booth, and waited for the waitress. She came over, and with a young smile that seemed to say, "This is not a career for me," handed me the menu. I ordered coffee while and quickly settled on a dinner of eggs, hash brows, biscuits, and gravy.

The coffee came in a large mug with a handle big enough to fit the largest trucker hands. A few minutes later, I had two nice sized plates of dinner breakfast food.

Eggs and hash browns are great late at night -- but only in some sort or diner. An omelet in my apartment during the Letterman show just seems kind of sad. But at a Denny's, Ihop, or truck stop, it's awesome.

So I sat there, wrapping up a day that started with 2.5 hours of restless sleep, with a hearty truck stop dinner, reading Cryptonomicon, and catching my breath after a hectic day. It was the kind of evening that can only happen just off the highway in a mid-western state.

And now it's time to look forward to the adventures and minutia waiting around the next corner.