Indiana Stalker Experiences

After a lovely drive through prairie lands of Nebraska, and Iowa... & the short Jaunt through Illinois, we decided to hunker down in Indiana for the night at Cari's new favorite hotel establishment the Best Western. Which just so happened to be next to a "gentleman's club", a roach coach, and a fireworks establishment (buy 1 get 6 free). Nice, Cari.

STALKER CASE #1 RALPHIE'S ADMIRER!:
Upon checking in, I was greeted by a bitter old man at the front desk and his toothless (ok, he had a mouthful of green stumps) security guard. We'll call him toothless buck. As soon as TB laid his eyes on Ralphie, he made sure to ask to "pet her" and completely RILE him up! He just couldn't get enough of Ralphie, but I'll tell ya, we sure had enough of him! After retiring to our crack de.... I mean, luxurious accommodations, I decided to take Ralphie for a nice walk a.k.a, final bathroom break of the night. Lo and behold, who do we run into?? Our good buddy Toothless Buck, who is conveniently doing a perimeter check...but takes the opportunity to chat me up, and RILE THE DOG UP EVEN MORE. I don't know about you, dedicated viewers.... but when you're tired, your freezing and you're trying to get your already highly distractible puppy to focus on that wide patch of grass just out of reach.....the last person you want to run into is a guy like TB. He finally got the hint and went back inside! Once we returned to the room, Ralphie proceeded to drink a gallon of water, then gave the "potty" signal 10 minutes later. Of course we ran into TB again... This brings a whole new meaning to "security camera abuse".

STALKER CASE #2: CARI'S TRUCK DRIVING ADMIRER!

Let me begin by setting the scene. We pull into a travelers plaza to fill up the tank and to fill our body's up with liquid gold... a.k.a. Coffee. Jess goes to get coffee while Cari fills up the car. Cari begins pumping gas, and when she looks up there is a strange man standing by the car staring at her.

Man: are you lost?
Cari: excuse me?
Man: Are you lost? Because california is THAT way (said with a chuckle)
Cari: (nervously fake laughing) oh, no! Going all of the way to the east coast.
Man: (lingers for a minute... walks away)

Cari walks into the station in search of a restroom... But finds the man waiting for her instead.

Man: having trouble with the pump?
Cari: nooo, just came in to find a bathroom and some warmth!
Man: you should come to Minnesota.
Cari: I think I'd die of freezing
Man: well I think we could find you a boyfriend to keep you warm.
Cari: I think I'd need about 12.
Man: (laughs a little too hard)
Cari: (fastwalks out of there, jumps in the car, locks the doors and speeds away)

Which is why Ralphie & I remain at this traveler's plaza, telling Cari's tales. If anyone hears from Cari... we're still here waiting for her!

Ps...this picture represents the ramp we are going to use to propel ourselves toward the east coast faster!