Leisure Transients

Saturday night represented the half way mark of our journey and the hotel was good enough to anoint us with a new title.  Hence forth the Homers are to be known as Leisure Transient(s).  Well, let me tell you what it is like to be a Leisure Transient. 

To begin our schedule is flexible; we have no start time and no end time.  Indeed, it seems that each evening we stay up later working on the blogs. A cheer goes out when we push the publish button.  Last night I was wondering if we were wasting our fine meal and drink by working so hard, it is evident however, that we enjoy the exercise.

Each morning we wake when we wake. No alarms, save the light of the day, once one of us opens the drapes.  Homer says, “I woke him at 5 am this morning, when I peek out”, what he did not hear was me opening the window to get some air into the room, nor did it interrupt his snoring for long. Once we have showered and Homer has broken radio silence by inserting his ears, we firm up the plan of the day, then we pack our clothing and equipment, I think we have enough cords to hang our selves, we set out.  This process is not rushed; I am with Homer after all.

The first decision of the day is where to eat.  We did sampled the free, or as I tell Homer, included in the price, breakfast at the hotel, but prefer to seek local eats. We have been lucky with donuts and Homers Chicken Fried Steak.  Never did I expect Homer to enjoy Chicken Friend Steak, but three times in two days was a shocker. He liked the one with rattlesnake gravy best!  Me, I passed, once was enough.  Maybe it taste better if you like the beer that goes with it, I do not know and do not intend to find out.

Then it is on to the mission of the day, however, we relish diversion and encourage random stops.  Neither of us can seem to find the words to describe the vistas we have seen. Often we stop just to take the view in.  As hard as we try, we lack the photographic skill to capture the vastness of the land and sky.  It is easy to see why this part of the country is referred, to as “Big Sky Country”.  It seems other things are big as well. Driving on route 90 to Billings Montana we came across a truck, with wide load displayed on the bumper carrying the largest tires I have ever seen. We suspect they were going to one of the coal mines that fill, the never ending, railroad cars we see running parallel to the highway.

Upon completion of the mission of the day, today it was the “Little Bighorn Battlefield”, more on that in the next post; we seek lodgings, drink and dinner.  As it has ended up we have stayed in three different Holiday Inn Express Hotels and one old fashion Holiday Inn, which was the least expensive. Perhaps, we should have sought sponsorship, like the other celebrities!  I think Homer, could be the next Charles Kuralt.

Drinking has surprisingly been a problem.  No bar exists in the Express places, except for the breakfast bar, and it does not have Spirits. And three nights out of the five we have found ourselves in eating establishments that lack Spirits as well! What has the west come to?  At tonight’s Barbeque place, Famous Dave’s, the waitress suggested that I should carry my own bottle like it was a common occurrence.  That explains the drive thru windows at the package stores.

At the conclusion of the day we return to the room and write our blogs.  We are probably the only ones in the hotel who do not have the television tuned to Fox News. The only noise filling the room is the tapping of the keys and occasional curse when our equipment acts on it own, until the ”Publish” button is pushed. A few minutes later it is back to radio silence and lights out for the Leisure Transients.