August 14, Thursday – End Shifting

At six a.m. the first pickup arrived soon followed by a second. I quickly got dressed and went outside to talk to the work crew. It was fine for us to be there. I explained that we were beat after fourteen hours and this was the best place we could find. No problem. I wondered as I climbed back into the RV how this whole scene would have played out if it were done in French on the other side of the river.
We were headed for a state park called Darien Lakes and got there at 4 p.m. after passing a Disneyland in the ag fields called Six Flags Amusement Park. Oh, my god. The ranger assured me that I didn’t want to stay at the park because the Jonas Brothers were playing at Six Flags the next night and that tonight and through the weekend the state park was going to be a screaming hell filled with teeny-boppers. He showed us how to get to 4 Mile Creek State Park on Lake Ontario. We went.
Melanie had asked to spend the night at an airport motel so she could soak in a tub and not have to worry about catching her Friday morning flight back home. So after parking the big rig, we were off to the airport region. She was tired of navigating and I was tired of driving and the roads around Niagara Falls/Buffalo area drained us. The plan was to get Melanie into a motel and for us to go out for a nice supper before I headed north back to 4 Mile. Melanie emerged from the motel bathroom with fresh makeup on and a tired face. We both agreed that total exhaustion from three days of hard driving was just around the corner. After a brief exchange, we both reached the same conclusion. She would relax in her new room and I would drive the 45 minutes back to Lake Ontario. It was such an abrupt end to our two weeks that it seemed surreal as I headed out of the parking lot. The goodbyes were over with before either of us knew the end had happened. I drove back in a state of nothingness. The highway just unfolded in front of me and when I arrived back at the empty RV, I called her room to make a more fulfilling separation but again the exhaustion was in both of our voices. I ate and collapsed into bed.