Bondage

Saturday was our day off, our first technical day off on the whole Ride. We slept in (that means 9:30 am), went to breakfast, and then hung out around the hotel for a while. Somehow it was decided that it would be a good idea to jump in the pool with clothes on. Note that this pool had been covered in snow mere hours previously and that it was located in the center courtyard of the sketchiest motel in OK City. The first splash drew all the residents to their balconies, and as the shouts and chants of people's names grew louder, we definitely gained an audience. A bunch of bleary-eyed middle aged men who refused to make eye contact with anyone with boobs watched with a mixture of confusion and delight as we gamboled about. I myself jumped in twice, once notably in my bikini, and swam to the other end of the pool, unlike some chickens who shall remain nameless who leapt from a point immediately ajacent to the ladder and barely got damp. That was some cold ass water. Like, seriously, cold. Eventually we got about 20 people out there for a group leap and pictures, including Dondi our driver, and of course it was recorded for posterity by the documentary crew. We then retired to our hot showers, both single and communal, and then hung out at the nice barbeque the motel threw for us. Good times.

That night the plan was for several of us to go out clubbing. However, we were informed by a bartender that there were both undercover police officers and Christians posing as patrons hoping to get us in trouble by luring us into illegal activity had been spotted in the local establishments. We decided we didn't want to risk having crack slipped into our pockets and spending time in the no doubt lovely Oklahoma City jail, so had a little L Word party and crashed. Stupid people, ruining our fun. Oh, two more people cut their hair. It's apparently what we do when we get bored.

Bus survival tips: if you hang a jacket over the seat in front of you, you can use the pockets for storage. You can never have too many pillows. The back of the bus may be where all the cool kids sit, but it's also smelly and hot. However, if you sit in the front, every news crew in the country will get pictures of you sleeping and/or canoodling. If you are driving through Texas, be sure the air conditioning system has plenty of Freon. Don't abuse the PA system. Do not underestimate the power of "Finding Nemo" to bring people together. (speaking of, now that the DVD player is fixed it's much easier for me to get my rest. I slept through "The Princess Bride", "Saved", and half of "Nemo" on Sunday). Be nice to your driver, even if you have to put up with him calling you "baby". You will not make enough stops; carry your own snacks and be prepared to hold it, 'cause you do not want to use that toilet. (speaking of snacks, did I mention that people have been giving us the weirdest snacks at each stop? we have dozens of packages of cheese curls and a whole case of vienna sausages) Anything left in the storage compartments for more than 3 days is free game (free polo shirt for me!). If you are 10 minutes late, you may be left behind (ha ha Jake!). Lotion is essential.