TJ has contacted another of her Jasper acquaintances who lives in a town just south of here called Oro Valley. They are only available to host us during a certain time frame, of which we are still waiting to hear back from them with final details.
Also, my father and his girlfriend are miraculously coming to Arizona in a few weeks to stay with a friend of theirs in a place not far from where we are currently bunking, a small town called Arizona City.
Trying to coordinate both of these encounters means we've been in a bit of a holding pattern here in Casa Grande.
2) Overcompensation.
Pretty much the entire time we were in California, we were able to maintain the illusion that we were old-souled, classic rock-appreciating, one-with-nature loving, free spirited hippie children. While we are definitely all of these things to some degree, I don't think we really understood how much the ready and available access to delicious coffees, free wi-fi, and binge-worthy television affected our daily lives. Subtract one, and we could deal. Subtract them all and it was like...an anxiety of some sort. Like, anything could happen to us and our family and friends would have no idea where we were because we hadn't had a chance to update them yet.
Needless to say our reintroduction to technology led us down a steep and treacherous rabbit hole.
3) Supernatural.
I know I've mentioned watching this show in previous posts but I don't know if I've divulged how fully and unhealthily I've become obsessed with this show.
Let's start with the obvious reasons:
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| Dean Winchester. Sam Winchester |
They're just...sooooo unbelievably hot. It's cruel how good-looking they are. It should be illegal.
Secondly, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and not altogether different from what we've been listening to in the Van. TJ loves classic rock and is a bit of a music buff. I can definitely hold my own at Rock Trivia so we've been pretty evenly matched. That Sam and Dean Winchester (illegally good-looking main characters of Supernatural) also listen to our kind of jamz just cements my inner fan-girl's notions that we will probably become best friends/intimate lovers to the Winchesters in the near future. (I do know that they are fictional characters. I know this. I swear.)
Thirdly, they're literally on a perpetual road trip around the United States. I mean, yes they're also saving people and hunting things while they do it but ultimately this is one big Americana love story with the road. SOUND FAMILIAR???
Finally, they drive around in a 1967 black Chevy Impala. Granted, this is a much sexier car than, say, a 1985 Dodge camper van, but I think it's preeeeety clear they're practically the same thing.
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So, with a lot of time to kill, close proximity to every material thing you could ever think of, and access to electricity, our first three days in Casa Grande went a little something like this:
1. Wake up at Wal-Mart
2. Eat breakfast at Wal-Mart (purchasing coffee from the McD’s inside Wal-mart)
3. Get dressed and find something to cover the hideousness of unwashed hair
4. Go to the magical Safeway internet signal
5. Charge laptop, blog, watch illegally streamed episodes of Supernatural
6. Return to Wal-Mart and watch Die Hard until laptop dies.
7. Sleep
8. Repeat
The historic downtown of Casa Grande, which we're told boasts an epic old theatre, a supposedly marvelous greasy spoon diner, various shops offering wares and services, a farmers market and art walks on certain days of the week, is dying. It’s slowly being put out of business because Wal-Mart has set up shop on the edge of town and is sucking small businesses dry. Why go to ten different places to get your errands done when you can just go to Wal-Mart, get your oil changed, your nails done, do your grocery shopping, get your film developed, rent a movie, buy a bunch of useless shit, and get some McDick’s on the way out? I use Wal-Mart as the example and I realize that other chains have the same business plan, but Wal-Mart is the epitome of it all; the Grand Pubah of Satan’s retail conglomerate.
I rant about all of this…and yet it’s so god-damned convenient when you’re traveling to go to sleep, wake up, and have anything you might need just a parking lot away. If it weren’t for the sulpher I smelled on the way in the front doors, I might just forget about all that “evil” business practice stuff, and instead frolic through the women’s wear department laughing maniacally about the great deal I just got on Bruce Willis movies before I dive head first into a bin full of discount star-spangled towels.
I digress…
Day four threw us a curveball when we decided to investigate the some parts of the city that we hadn’t seen and discovered a shiny new strip mall full of cookie-cutter box stores and chains. All that righteous judgement about satanic business practices I just mentioned? Yeah, that wasn't really in the forefront of my brain as we pranced through the aisles at Target.
The most important discovery came out of the dusk and appeared as our dinner-time beacon of light: In-and-Out Burger. I had heard of this place in conjunction with several descriptions of how earth-shatteringly delicious the burgers are, so obviously we needed to confirm these claims.
Burger verdict: quite delicious! They make everything fresh, from the fries to the burger patties, and you watch them make your burger while you wait. It’s also damn cheap and I could feel my arteries hardening with every greasy, delicious, bite.
Day five started with the, now routine, Wal-Mart purchase of Yoghurt and fruit, but ended in two triumphs.
Triumph #1: we snuck into a little league park bathroom and washed our hair. We have not had a shower since Joshua Tree. That's 12 days of baby wipe bath time and creative bandana hairstyles. Finding this haven of running water, even if it was just a sink and a hand dryer in a park bathroom, felt like a million bucks.
Triumph #2: We price matched Wal-Mart at Best Buy and now are the proud owners of all four seasons of Supernatural. No longer must we wait for a hint of internet signal to watch this magnificent show! Plus, we only paid $20 for each season! What an investment!!!
TJ turned to me, after we just did a victory dance in the Best Buy parking lot , and said:
“Hey, do you want to celebrate with pancakes?”
We had just been discussing how we need to eat the food in the van more and eat out less.
“YES I DO!!!!!!” I exclaimed and a volume not appropriate for public parking lots. We maniacally laughed our way to IHOP for greasy breakfast, yet again.
I realize that this is sad. I realize that I am on a road trip like no others and I should be out experiencing whatever the VP throws at me…but…I need me some Winchesters! And pancakes. I need pancakes too.
In any case, this has been our life in Casa Grande: strip malls, box stores, Wal-Mart, Winchesters, and Die Hard. Hopefully Oro Valley provides us with some better opportunities to get out and see the sights…if there are sights. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LET THERE BE SIGHTS!
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