This is my beautiful 2013 Scion FR-S, it was the first “new” car I ever bought but it was a very low mileage certified pre-owned. It is currently dead because of the turbo you see installed below. Which reminds me, I need to call the engine guy and ask how the rebuild is coming… I digress. What I wanted to talk about was my road-trip from Colorado to Illinois to pick up a pet bird.
Went to work on a Friday and worked my normal 8. Kept trying to figure out how I could make it to Springfield to pickup this bird and make it home to rest a bit before Monday. Realized there is no right answer so as soon as I got off work I picked up the Wife and headed out.
It started to snow in Kansas and I am on Firestone Firehawk Indy500 summer tires that have done their fair share of burning rubber. This really slowed me down, but not enough to get a ticket. KSP claims they got me doing 86 in a 75. I call BS, but take the ticket and get back too it. I get near Kansas City and decide I want to hop up to Interstate 72 to cross Missouri. I go jump over onto I-35N and get ready to drive up for about 30 to 40 minutes expecting I-72E. You’re probably thinking, you dummy there is no I-72 across Missouri! Well I don’t typically use a GPS or a map after I have studied a bit before heading out on a trip. My internal compass is pretty good so anyway I came across an exit for US Hwy 36. I recognize US36 lining up with I-72 so I figure its a small sub-section of highway and get off.
OH MY GOD I WAS FUCKING WRONG BUT NO TURNING AROUND NOW BOYS! I GOT A SCHEDULE TO KEEP!
At this point its around 0230 to 0300 local time and its snowing again. This time its worse and the highway is pitch fucking black and I am exhausted after that drive across Kansas. Now I’ve realized I screwed up. The wife has now told me there is no I-72 until the IL boarder… Slow and steady wins this race so I just try and stay alive. I have never seen so many dead animals in a road as I had seen crossing US36 this night. I almost hit a dear and a coyote. Upside though, I hit nothing!
We finally pull into Springfield IL around 1030am and grab some breakfast. Picked up the bird and now it was time to head home. But first I really needed sleep. There was no way I was making it home to Denver in my current condition. We slept in the car for about 2.5 hours before getting back on the road. Decided to not be an idiot and drive down to our friendly I-70 corridor which we are both intimately familiar with. I get mostly across MO and realize I am still way too tired. Figured this would be perfect time to let the wife learn to drive manual. Hell, once you are moving and set cruise control at 75, its no different than an auto. I tell her to wake me when we get near St Louis. Get off at some exit, fire drill, and a clutch dump later and we are back on the road. I tell her to wake me when we get near Kansas City so I can help her navigate, I know I-70W to be a little funky junky around the middle of town and you really gotta trust your gut on one of those blind curves or else you trick yourself and end up going south.
SHE DIDNT WAKE ME UP AND GUESS WHO WAS GOING SOUTH!! Once she realized the mistake she woke me and we swapped on another on-ramp and I decided to drive us the rest of the way home. But the drive well into Colorado was at a whopping 40 to 50 mph because once again it was snowing like a SOB. Eventually, after lots of stress and coffee we all made it home safely, but man it was a fun road trip.
Other than this road trip, I bought this car with 14k miles on it and its got 100k on the ODO. It’s been to the Pacific Coast, the Atlantic Coast, down to the Gulf of Mexico, and down just about every State road in Colorado. She’s made countless trips between Denver and Nashville and taught 4 people to drive a manual… Oh I can’t wait to have’er back on the road. Gotta make some more memories 
P.S. My wife says I should have told ya about the last cruise with all the homies before the engine blew up, but of course that is her favorite memory because she was driving my car lol.
