Shower Encounters

Yes. Many of you guessed it: showering has proven to be a challenge. Here’s our motto: day one: hair down, day two: hair up, day three: hat. The following are true tales of how we’ve managed to stay clean on the road.

First: there are have been a number of loving friends who have let us stay with them as we’ve driven through their cities. This is the most convenient to obtain a shower. Perhaps also, the most preferred. It’s especially nice because often they have clean, fluffy towels for us, rather than our handy, but sometimes less cozy, microfiber ones.

We knew that once we left Arizona, we were truly in uncharted territory. Everyday is a question of where we’ll go, what we’ll see, where we’ll sleep, when we’ll shower, and where.

We figured we could use gyms or truck stops. Both are quite expensive. The first needing a down payment and 12 month commitment, the latter is about $13/shower. It’s about that easy. We use wet wipes everyday for faces and other important places.

Here’s our first encounter..

We were in New Mexico. We had just visited White Sands National Park. We were on day 4, and looking a little rough. We had our shorts, Chaco sandals, hats, and tee shirts. At this point we were discouraged when we tried a truck stop, and learned the expensive shower price. We stopped at a nearby gym and asked about their rates. We looked way bizarre with our pre-packed backpack full of clean clothes and shampoo. We decided not to get an annual pass, but were given a week free to test out the facility.

Me, trying not to seem like we had a sure end in mind, skirted around the issue, C, on the other hand, said, “Okay, great. Well, thank you. We just went to White Sands and are going to use your shower.” I was mortified. C went to the single shower, and I sat down at the various machines and started pathetically working out while I waited for my turn.

Other times we’ve gone to the beach and quickly washed our hair in the rinse spigots by the shore. Once we got a hotel (luxury!) in Orlando and another time we found a truck stop for only $2.50/shower. Now that it’s warmer, going to community pools for a swim in the early afternoon and showering there has proven to be a fun way to play and get clean for cheap.

No matter where we get to scrub off, it’s always oh, so wonderful to be clean.