280/365

6am departure, and I'm awake at 4:10. WIDE awake. I pretend to sleep, as if I could fool myself, and finally realize that my husband isn't asleep either. With time to spare, we start the day. He makes coffee. The still of early hours make quiet.

The minutes that ticked so slowly when I wished sleep suddenly pass in fast forward once awake. My guy, he's never ready when I am. It took, hmm, about 23 years to figure out that we don't have to leave together, that maybe it's better for both of us if we don't. Finally time to depart, I roll my bag out the door. Be sure, I was only walking to our ride. I promise, I wouldn't really leave that man behind.

We meet our teammates, our friends, finish last minute packing and loading, open and close the gates, and head out. The streets are dark, but starting to come alive, more cars, more people the farther we go. I turn around to talk and spill his coffee on the seat. I once again silently vow to never carry coffee without a lid into the car. My pants soak up the overflow

I confess, I am perhaps disproportionately (say that three times fast in Spanish... desproporcionadamente desproporcionadamente desproporcionadamente...) excited about the trip ahead. We are boarding a bus and driving south for 10 hours. 10 hours of looking out the window, of reading, of sitting next to my guy. I'm a road trip nerd.

The journey does not disappoint. We pass through countryside, Northern Mexico desert turns to mountains. The road climbs. The bus rolls on past roadside villages, past farm and field, past taco stands and fruit stands and honey stands. Brown eventually greens, and even flowers. The violet tint of the window colors all the views, purple mountains majesty indeed.

It's good to get out of town.