kevin_standlee: (SMOF License)
[personal profile] kevin_standlee
This morning, we decided that getting a bellman and getting the van to the front of the hotel was such an incredible hassle that it was easier for us to make three trips down to the parking garage with our luggage. As some of our stuff is in bankers boxes, I wish I'd brought the folding luggage cart. (The boxes are great on a cart, but troublesome to hand-carry.) We checked out and were on the road a few minutes after 10 AM.

We had no idea just how fatigued we both were until after Beatty, the start of the "long middle" of US-95 in Nevada. We limped in to Tonopah and considered calling it a day there, but felt slightly better after having sandwiches, so we pushed onward. This was a mistake. Both of us were having tremendous difficulty staying awake. We each tried spelling each other at the wheel, but it was frightening driving while having to keep shaking myself to stay awake. Lisa was literally in pain from the fatigue.

As we approached Hawthorne, 325 miles and about seven hours since we left Las Vegas, we decided to give up. The first motel on the south end of town is an America's Best Inn, and has decent rooms and about the price/quality of a Holiday Inn Express, including a wired internet connection. (There are many other cheaper properties; we're spoiled.) We bailed out 100 miles short of home. I got online and e-mailed my manager, who agreed that it was better to arrive alive. I expect to be home around Noon tomorrow. As soon as we could, Lisa went to bed. I'm going to do so as well.

A bunch of things have happened online today, including another Hugo Controversy. I don't have time to address them right now and I'm too exhausted to give them proper attention. But I will once again say that one should never assume malice or conspiracy when there are other reasonable explanations.

Date: 2013-09-10 03:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-cubed.livejournal.com
Alive and late is definitely better than the other kind of late. I hope you're feeling recovered in the morning.

Date: 2013-09-10 01:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kevin-standlee.livejournal.com
Well, at least well enough to drive the remaining 100 miles home. I was very aware of the group from the Pacific Northwest who cracked up on their way to the Las Vegas Westercon due to the driving falling asleep at the wheel.

Date: 2013-09-11 06:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] johno.livejournal.com
I know the brain doesn't work that way at the time, but Chris and I have done that ourselves.

We once were switching off every 5-10 minutes, because we were both so tired.

Date: 2013-09-12 04:40 am (UTC)
delosharriman: a bearded, serious-looking man in a khaki turtleneck & hat : Captain Tatsumi from "Aim for the Top! Gunbuster" (captain tatsumi)
From: [personal profile] delosharriman
I had enough trouble making it back home myself.
I stopped at Belton for lunch, hoping that a walk around the town square would revive me, but I barely managed to get through Waco, & in the end I pulled off to the side of the road, found a patch of shade (although it was still awful hot), & dozed for the best part of an hour.
Trying to keep oneself awake while driving is harrowing, but that doesn't make it any easier to stay awake!

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