A weekend of driving

My sore throat and congested lungs are an annoying reminder of my weekend. Not that my weekend was annoying; on the contrary, it was quite nice. But I'm feeling the two packs of cigarettes, game of sleep catch-up, and 24 hours of driving within a 55 hour period.I started Friday afternoon by leaving work at 3pm. Deposited my paycheck, hit Rite-Aid for smokes and cokes, grabbed my pre-packed bag from my apartment, and hit the road. I stopped for an oil change and entered the on-ramp to the 134.. traffic.. it would stay this way for a couple hours. Fast.. slow..stop.. and so on.. The 134 turned into the 210, and finally hit the 15N to Las Vegas. Traffic continued to be intermittenly shitty, but opened up about 100 miles outside of LA. I poured my 2nd large jack and coke in my travel coffee mug and stopped to pee in the desert. There's something about pulling off on the shoulder in the middle of nowhere and peeing in the sand. Moon, stars, pee..So anyway.I made it to Las Vegas around 11pm. I was meeting friends downtown- but I had never been downtown. So the combination of 2 large jack and cokes and lack of specific directions led me to arrive downtown around midnight. I was meeting my closest friends from Dallas at Fitzgeralds. They had suprised Matt for his birthday with a weekend in Vegas. He didn't realize what was going on until they were walking through the gate at DFW airport.I was in contact via cellphone with Mark, and arrived in the casino. I was met by Clarence and was informed that Matt had no idea I was coming. I followed Clarence to where Matt, Mark and Jason were standing, waited for the opportune moment when Matt could not see me coming, and SLAMMED my shoulder in his back!! 'Oh, excuse me' I said and walked a few steps away. I changed my course to walk right next to Matt, who's faced away from me. I could only imagine his irrate face as I watched Mark, Jason and Clarence smile with anticipation for Matt to turn back around and see me. He finally did, and his eyes shot open and a smile widened over is face. 'Holy shit!!' he says. WITH MY BOYS IN VEGAS!!!!We drank, gambled, and caroused around. No crazy stories on this trip, but had a COMPLETE blast. Drunk as fuck at 6 a.m. and Madison ate the biggest hamburger he's ever seen. The whole thing, gone. It was amazing. (for those of you who don't know, I don't eat much meat at all.. no pork, no beef.. fish is cool, and chicken about once every week or two..) What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.. (actually, I think it ended up in a gas station bathroom somewhere in Death Valley.. but moving on)We hit the hotel room and slept for a few hours. I was in a bed to begin with but ended up on the floor by the door because the sounds coming from the nose and mouth of Clarence where quite intolerable.The boys were staying until 11pm Saturday night, but I had to leave at noon. I was to drive to Palo Alto, just outside of San Francisco, a nine hour drive. Bluh. I finally got out of Vegas around two, and stopped at a motel for the night at 9. I was a bit worried my credit card wouldnt work and I would be sleeping in my car, but luckily, thankfully, it worked and I got a shower and a bed.. and some privacy!! which was nice, because even that can be hard to come by in Hollywood. I slept for a good 11 hours and made the last hour or so leg of the trip to Palo Alto going about 100mph.It was a long drive but worth it. My great aunt Carmen died a week or so ago. There was no funeral. She is to be cremated, and Sunday, officially, was a Celebration of her Life. She was an amazing woman. My grandfathers sister, and although I never got to know her very well, I can say from the few times I saw her, and all the stories I've heard, she was quite incredible. The gathering was at Carmen and Bill's house in Palo Alto, which was filled with family and friends. Many of which I have just come to know in the last few years, and have only seen a handful of times. It has been nice to get to know some of my more distant relatives. So, after food, beverage, and visiting a few hours with my second cousins and aunts and uncles, its time to hit the road again. Luckily this leg would have a second passenger. My cousin Rachel and her husband Paul live in Santa Monica, and had been there all weekend. Rachel was staying another week with their 4 year old Cole, but Paul had to go back to work. I get along well with Rachel and Paul, and though I enjoy solo road trips, I welcomed the company. Hauling ass as much as other cars would allow, and stopping as little as possible, we arrived in Santa Monica at 9pm. Luckily Paul payed for gas on the way down and filled up my tank again before I dropped him off. I don't know how much more my debit card can take. He didnt have to buy a plane ticket back, and I get gas for the week. That worked out nicely.I hit Hollywood before ten, and don't really remember going to sleep.. or if I took a shower.. or.. well, whatever.. I was dazed.I do remember, however, having a strange dream and waking myself up by punching the wall.I was in a car with a girl, I don't remember who it was.. and we had driven to Denton (Tx) so she could pick up something from a friend..or something.. before we ate lunch.. back in Dallas (45min drive) She went inside and suddenly it's night, and it's raining, and there's a homeless man riding his bike in circles around the car. So I start barking at him.. RAAAAR!!!!! The girl comes back and she's dripping wet. Somehow we began talking to the homeless man and he is in the car.. (the girls driving, me in the back, and homeless man in the passenger seat) and there was a moment of sympathy.. because it was raining.. So I say 'we'll drop you off somewhere' he says 'ok, go here'.. pretty soon I realize he's talking shit, and doesn't have anywhere in mind to go.. and starts trying to get money from us.. I tell him to get out of the car, and an arguement starts. Girl starts screaming, homeless man grabs my hand and BITES DOWN!!! So I punched him in the face.. but it was really the wall.. I went back to sleep after that. The end.