The Declaration of Independence was the promise; the Constitution was the fulfillment

This is the day for which I had been planning for a while. I had to spend a fair amount of the day doing last minute preparations such as downloading waypoints into the GPS, printing hiking maps, going through mental checklists, finding clothes, etc. At the airport I was surprised to run into an acquaintance, Mike (Slim Prickens) that was also traveling to Atlanta (my lay-over) on his way back home to Charlotte after dealing with some final moving issues. The plane was nearly empty and the gate crew had to nearly beg people to sit in the back so the weight would be balanced. We chatted for a while and I handed over my laptop so he could watch the movie 300 for a while. I have yet go to Atlanta and not have the gate change for my next flight, and this was no exception. After taking the subway to the other terminal, I was soon back in the air. One positive aspect about flying on July 4th during the evening was seeing all firework displays around the city. Even when flying at high altitude, in the clear sections small ground displays could be seen.

The long flight was made easier by watching the movie 'Ratatouille' on the laptop until the battery died, thereafter watching some podcasts on my MP3 player. I arrived in Las Vegas a little after 11:30. Prior to landing the captain announced ground conditions. I thought he was reading off the next day's weather forecast because he said it was 105 F outside. Nope, it was indeed the current temperature. After picking up my bags and using the airport free WiFi while charging my batteries, I headed off to the car rental facility. The last rental agency I used allowed one to choose the car they wanted within the category specifications, however Avis apparently assigns cars. I wanted to get a station wagon sized vehicle like last time (e.g. Chevy HHR, PT Cruiser, etc), but I ended up being assigned a Chevy Aveo. I mostly wanted the vehicle with the best gas mileage, so this seemed as good as any. After thoroughly reading the rental agreement (and making sure that it offered unlimited mileage and had no clause that added fees if the car was taken out-of-state) I signed the paperwork and headed out. I make sure that every time I rent a car to take pictures of all the damage or marks already in place so that I do not get blamed for anything. After getting most of my stuff situated; GPS attached, inverter installed, laptop setup, clothes organized etc., I headed out. Even the parking garage where the car was located was stifling hot at mid-night with temperature probably exceeding 100 F even then.

A friend I had met at the San Diego RDR last July, Suzana (Multiple Horesgasm), kindly offered me a place to crash. Originally I planned on taking off that night, however my camera apparently some spots on the sensor. I could not find any camera shops in the Tampa area that had digital sensor swabs in stock and had to locate a camera store in Las Vegas. I called a couple that had them, however they had no way for me to purchase the items over the phone and wouldn't leave them somewhere outside where I could obtain them upon arrival. I headed to the house and after a warm reception, I quickly crashed hoping for an early start.