Where I am Now: Sidney, Nebraska

Just arrived in Sidney, Nebraska and spending the night at a hotel across the street from the World Wide Headquarters of CABELAS.

That aside, my charming husband and I drove 786 miles today - I'm going to fudge it and say 800 miles for simplicity.

Definitely glad I brought the bottle of Glenlivet single malt I always pack in the dogs' food bag. Since their bag gets unloaded from the car before everything else does, and since they're fed before anything else happens, I pour myself a respectable shot in the hotel's plastic cup, relax and watch the puppies eat as I sip and savor. A few moments of down time, relaxation and a bit of libation is just enough. Those few moments of quality time alone works wonders to keep me from saying all those really regrettable things that come to mind when we're tired, hungry, crabby and road-weary.

Note: Opportunities for relationship-testing abound!

I'd highly recommend that anyone contemplating marriage would be wise to drive cross country with his or her beloved accompanied by 2 very large farting dogs while also being prepared for blizzards, dust storms, pea-soup fog, black ice (never heard of that stuff before I began driving cross-country), in addition to migrating herds of elk, antelope (not to be confused with can't elope) the occasional stray cow who might wander onto the highway, and deer who engage in games of "chicken" with their fellow deer by darting in front of speeding vehicles. All these events generally occur during times of diminished visibility or extreme cold!