This time the highway heads back east, so buckle your seat belt again. And we’re off!

Before hitting the road, however, there was one last item of business to be handled. We asked the bellman at our hotel to have our Miata brought up from the parking garage. When it emerged from the garage, he looked at it, glanced over to our cooler and stack of luggage, and sniffed, “There’s no way that’s all going into that car.”

“Wanna bet?” we replied.

Of course, everything fit just fine. It always does. Had we bothered to collect all the packing bets we’ve made with bellmen over the years, we’d have enough money by now to buy a brand-new Miata, plus a set of luggage to go with it. Luckily for the bellhop, we merely smiled, handed him a tip and pointed the car toward our first destination, Colorado Springs.