The Fan Bus, pt 2

"Movie time! Someone brought a DVD of "RV," starring Robin Williams. This wasn't so bad. Lunch, comfy seat, movie to boot! Although, throughout the movie there were scenes where Robin Williams was weaving his RV all over the road, and as I glanced out the window I couldn't distinguish fact from fiction. Were we the ones weaving, or was that in the movie? I kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Brief stop to stretch our legs. We were past Indy and just short of the Kentucky border, at a truck stop. Most of us stepped off the bus, some ran in to use real bathrooms. Although the bus was equipped with a small, airline style bathroom, it was, at best, adequate. Jan calls for "Buddy Check." Look to our left and to our right, call out if we're missing anyone. Everyone's accounted for. We're off.

Getting dark. That's a pretty sunset off to my right, clearly indicating we were headed south. The saturation of pinks and blues were mesmerizing. Some of the passengers no doubt noticed it as well. It was quiet - just the humming of the road beneath us. I borrowed my wife's iPod, thought I'd listen to some tunes, maybe get a quick nap in.

Looks like we're having pizza for dinner. Someone called ahead at a place called Cici's Pizza, at a shopping center just outside of Bowling Green, KY. The driver was given directions: just off the freeway, two stop lights down the road, then make a left. There it is. Glad we called ahead - they had extra pizzas made. Looks to be a popular joint. With it being the week before Christmas and all the stores around us, I don't think it would have mattered had they called ahead or not. The pizzeria was well prepared for big crowds. Pizza was good. Buddy check!

Another movie, this time "Rudy." Seen it already, wouldn't mind seeing it again. We were there when they filmed it, at the Notre Dame-Boston College game back in '93. Most of the game scenes were filmed during halftime, some at the end of the game. The producers wanted a real game crowd. I thought, "here we are on our way to a football game." How prophetic. Or was it ironic?

At the end of "Rudy" there was a bit of a commotion. People were laughing and pointing to something on the road. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. We were passing a pickup truck all decked out for the holidays: in the back was a full sized, fully lit, Christmas tree! With all the trimmings and decorations. And presents beneath the tree! We marveled at the driver's ingenuity. I felt like a kid. It was Christmastime after all.

We're here. Lexington, TN. The Econolodge. Jan calls our names as she hands out our hotel keys. The bus empties as we settle in for the night. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

Stay tuned for the concluding chapter of our story...