Day Five

The box is on the way back to Alabama.

We, the Dastardly Dishtaggers, FINALLY made it to the end of the DRT road! And it's been a long road. My original concern going into DRT this years as the weather. There had been so many bad hurricanes last year, I was concerned for the safety and well being of my teammates whom resided in the hurricane region. I also admit I was concerned about the box making it around that region as well. However, it was not the weather this year that was the biggest problem - at least for the Dastardlys; it was the USPS.

Back in September when the competition (swap started) things for the Dastardlys started off on a Murphy's Law note. Not only did I miss the cut off for the last mail pick-up of the night, that particular package spent several days in a Chicago sorting center waiting to make its way to Alaska. Note to y'all out there: When they say Priority Mail takes 2-3 days that is "just a suggestion" and not a guarantee despite the fact that it's marketed as such. (Yes, I heart the post office so much.)

We seem to be back on track once Purple Moose got the box and sent it off to sunny California. We were back on track! Or, at least we thought we were. Next thing we knew, one of our teammates was M.I.A. At one point we were so unsure and concerned about what had happened to this person messages on Rav and Twitter were posted trying to find them. Alas, they made us aware that they were ok. From there the box made it's way around the route smoothly. Ok, two "hiccups" wasn't a huge loss, right!? Ha! Before we knew it, the USPS was playing games with us again. (I'm telling you, the $4.80 you pay for priority service is a scam.) Before we knew it, messages of frustration where being exchanged amongst our group. And, I might have used a few of those words that would make a sailor blush as well.

In the end, we made it through and completed the race! I want to thank all my teammates for doing such an awesome job AND for keeping everyone's morale and spirits up. It's been a pleasure getting to know each of the ladies and look forward to next year's race!

Until later . . .