Drive day today…. as warned, the gigantic storm has hit and the rain has started her pounding. I am happy to get over Donner Pass without any snow. I made it all the way to Winnemucca. Yes, the Winnemucca Kid has returned. I can’t believe there isn’t a party or ticker tape parade through the city for me.

When I was 8 years old, our family took a summer vacation trip, one of those long drive trips that ensures there will be lots of family bonding. We stopped in Winnemucca at a rest stop and I had to go to the bathroom extremely… urgently. The boy’s bathroom was occupied, so I hustled into the girls’ side. I think this was my first time getting to peek inside the awesome mystery of what is in the girl’s bathroom.

After a minute, some women came in. I was horrified and didn’t know what to do. I was petrified and trapped and decided to continue hiding in the stall and remained silent as they gabbed and chatted… and pee’d… for what seemed like an eternity… more women came in… some left… I couldn’t dare leave and let them see me or know I had broken in… to the forbidden other side.

Finally, after several waves of incoming women, the coast was clear, and I ran out. My family waiting in the car with the engine running… “Where have you been?? We thought you were lost!” For some reason, my dad decided it was the most hilarious moment in the history of the Miller family tree, and laughed and laughed… for the entire trip… and would from that moment on, re-tell this classic tale of me being held captive in the girl’s bathroom. For the next couple years, I was known as “The Winnemucca Kid.”