It was going to be a long drive from Western Pennsylvania to Phoenix, Arizona. I'd be making it in my small motor home that I had spent a ton on getting it ready for the trip as well as it was going to be my living quarters once I got to Arizona. It only has a 6 cylinder engine so the gas mileage isn't atrocious but with the price of gas it was still going to cost a bunch to travel the 2400 miles to get there. I was hoping to come out ahead on travel expenses with not having to spend much on motels/hotels. I had loaded up the refrigerator/ freezer so I was also going to save a bunch in not having to pay restaurant prices for a lot of my meals.
The weather was perfect as I set out so at least I was getting off to a good start. It was going to be Interstate highways for almost the whole trip so I would be able to make some decent time but it was still going to take more than 5 days to get there. I love to drive but 2400 miles is a long way.
I had just crossed into Virginia when I spotted an old car stopped alongside of the road with a girl standing there with the hood up and just looking at the engine. It was as if the car broke down and she was hoping to fix it by staring at the engine. She was pretty as a picture and looked as if she was either a teenager or in her early twenties.
As I pulled over and got out and walked over to her I asked if there was anything I could do to help. She snapped back at me, "Just phone that asshole boyfriend of mine and tell him he should never have let me leave home with this damn thing making all of the noise it was."
Whoa, this was a bigger problem than I thought I wanted to get involved with.
I looked in at the engine and could see a major problem. There was a hole in the side of it with oil pouring out of it. It appeared that it had thrown a rod right through the block. This engine was finished and the car was over ten years old and wasn't worth very much even without this major problem. It was now ready for the scrap heap.
"Miss, this thing is ready for the junk yard and I can call and have it hauled away before the police come by and give you a bunch of heat about blocking up a part of the Interstate. Do you want me to call 911 and see if they can arrange a tow truck?"
She leaned over to me and said in a low smooth voice, "Mister, I'd be grateful for whatever help you can give me."
The 911 operator said she'd have a tow truck there in about 15 minutes so I asked her where she was headed and she responded with, "San Diego before this shit happened."
"Well, I'm headed for Phoenix and it is over 1800 miles from here and would be more than happy to give you a lift that far. From there it would only be roughly 300 miles to San Diego and I'm certain you could get a bus or train from there."
She thought it over for for a few minutes and returned to me saying she was thankful to be able to take me up on my offer. I told her that my motor home originally had sleeping space for six but I was using the compartment over the cab for storage so that reduced the sleeping area in it to four but since I was going to be the only occupant a sleeping area of four wasn't going to be a problem. She laughed saying she only had one suitcase and a few hanging things. No problem, when the tow truck would haul the junk away we'd be ready to get on the way to Phoenix.
"I'm Bill, what do they call you?
She answered with "I'm Chung Souk Lee. It's nice to meet you "and stuck her hand out. I hadn't realized up until then that she was Oriental. "Forget about my whole name and just call me Lee."
I shook it and she gave me a huge smile.
Sure enough the tow truck was there in a few minutes and the junk car was off to junk car heaven.
"Damn, I'm glad to be rid of that thing. It has given me more trouble than I'd care to think about."
"Lee, it's almost four o'clock and I never plan to drive too late for fear I'll fall asleep at the wheel. Normally I'd pull over to a rest area or park in a Walmart parking lot and sleep in the coach but it seems a little cool for that so I'll be looking for a reasonably priced motel around five o'clock and this is going to sound as if I am making a move on you but you have a couple of choices. You can sleep in the chilly motor home or get out and try to hitchhike a ride from someone else or come up to the room I get and share it with me. I'll try and get a room with two beds but am not always successful. Take your pick."
"Well, I damn sure aren't going to stand by the side of the road and hitch a ride with some guy who'll try and rape me; I agree that it might be kind of cold to sleep in the motor home and you look to be somewhat honorable so I guess I'll trust you can get a room with two beds or I can sleep on the floor if it only has a single."
We chatted for the next half-hour and I finally saw an Econo-Lodge ahead that looked OK from the parking lot. I was amazed she was going to trust me not to rape her but I never mentioned it.
Fortunately I was able to get a room with two queen sized bed so that solved that problem. I had noticed a small steak house a block or so away and I made her another offer.
"Lee, I feel like a steak and saw a steak restaurant a short ways back so if you'd like to join me I'll spring for the meals."
"Geez, that sounds terrific. It's nice of you offering to pay for the meals since I only have a gasoline credit card and very little money with me."
The steak was great and she was a super conversationalist so it was a nice meal.
"Lee, I got an early start this morning so I'm rather beat right now and would like to hit the hay a bit earlier than usual. I can sleep with the TV going so if you'd like to stay up and read or watch the boob tube it would be fine with me."
"No, that's OK. I'll sack out early too. What time do you want to get going in the morning?"
"What do you say about rising at eight and getting on the road at nine? That'll give us a solid eight hours driving."
She went into the bathroom first and when she came out wearing her nightgown it was obvious they had missed her when they were handing out tits. She didn't have much more than a palm full.
I shower in the morning so I simply brush my teeth at night and am ready for the sack. I don't wear pajamas but just sleep in my T-shirt and jockey underwear.
When the alarm went off at eight she was already up and dressed for the day and laughed when I saw her that way saying, "I awoke early and took as quiet a shower as I could for fear of waking you."
I responded with "I never heard a thing and if you'll give me fifteen minutes I'll be cleaned up and pretty enough for the road. Why don't you check the weather channel on the TV and give me the news when I get out of the bathroom?"
Sure enough I was showered shaved and dressed in just about twenty minutes and she gave me the news that we could expect heavy rain that afternoon. Aw shit, I hate to drive in the rain.
When we got into the coach I showed her how to get the generator going and in a few minutes she had coffee, juice and English Muffins ready for our breakfast.
I didn't realize it up until right then how thin she was. I'd bet she didn't weigh a hundred pounds but she looked good with her long black hair tied up into a long pony tail. She would really have been good looking gorgeous if she had pushed to the head of the line where they were handing out tits.
The day went pretty much as expected until around two when the rain started. This was serious stuff as the wipers could barely keep up with it. Damn, I had to slow down to forty in order to be able to see the road.
We drove until four when I was getting damn tired of driving in this downpour. We had reached the outskirts of Knoxville and saw a Walmart from the road and I pulled off at the next exit and parked at the very back of their lot.
Lee had made us sandwiches for lunch so neither of us were hungry right then so I started the generator and flipped on the TV. The heavy rain was all over the news and they were forecasting it to last until the next morning. Damn, we were going to be there for the night.
I had brought a few pocket books and there was a ton of unread magazines and I also had a few packs of playing cards so we had something to do to pass the time.
It was around eight when Lee announced she was hungry and I pointed her at the electric range and she dug out a jar of pasta sauce and fettuccine was only 15 minutes away.