First of all, I just want to say, this story is not for the faint of heart. Lady Red and I started this trip with nothing but the best of intentions. I think this is the case for every road trip, only this time, everything seemed to work against us. Also, since the story is so long, I will post it in several parts. So stay tuned for new installments to Cpl Honda’s homecoming saga.

We were on the road fairly early, around 7am. For the first few hours, all was well. Our first stop for some breakfast was good. The next stop, however was a little freaky. We pulled off for a restroom

House?

Creepy Place

break to a small roadside store. Next to the store was a what looked to be an old dilapidated house. As we turned into the road that led to the store, I noticed a Semi heading the opposite direction toward the highway ramp.

Lady Red went into the store to use the facilities. I stayed outside. As I looked around, an eerily, creeping feeling came over me. Picture this, there was a toilet sitting outside the entrance to the store and a

Little tractor

mini tractor parked in front of the store along with a hodge-podge of tools, broken signs and stuff you might find in a junk yard. The scene reminded me of the movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Seriously! I then realized that Lady Red was in the store for what I thought was a bit too long. Now I am thinking, should I go look for her? Should I stay and wait? Oh Jeez! Plus, I look over towards the road and the Semi is parked on the side of the road and the truck driver is staring at me. (insert cricket sounds here.)

At that point, I am ready to look for Lady Red, but thank goodness, she walks out of the store and we hop in the car and continue on our way.

Next, we arrive in Yuma and after putting gas in the car, we decide to eat lunch. We go to a cafe near the highway. As we walk in, we feel this oppressive, stuffy heat. We order our drinks and food. It takes forever for Lady Red’s drink to come. We look around and it seems we are the only people there under the age of 55. We chalk this up to the fact that it is only a weekday and other people our age are most likely working.

When our food arrives, I can already feel the sweat beads rolling off my forehead. I can only eat a little bit of my lunch because of the stifle of the heat. I should also insert here that I am stressed because I discovered the day before that I did not have current insurance cards on Cpl Honda’s car and I am worried I will not be able to enter the Camp.

So, we leave and get back in the car and continue on our journey. Fifteen minutes after we leave, I am still roasting from being in that sweat lodge cafe.

I will stop here. Please come back to read the rest of the story. Here is the link to the pics. I am not done uploading all the pics because we took so many, but this is a start. Trust me, this was only the beginning. For photos, go here. Scroll to the bottom. Too numerous to post here.

Part 2, coming up, drug sniffing dogs, a major delay and a citizenship test.