ABILENE, TX to KILLEEN, TX (Sunday, July 26)
4:20am - Up and at 'em, 10 minutes before my alarm was set to wake me up.
6:20am - Posts and coffee complete, time for my morning beer and packing ritual.
8:00am - On the road again. It felt like it was already about 75, and I was sweating when I finished packing up. It was nice though, 'cuz the wetness on my tee shirt felt good as the breeze hit me, as I headed down the frontage road to the highway. The forecast was for intermittent thunder showers, but all I saw was a slight overcast… not a cloud in the sky.
8:09am - Apache High School's sign, at the southern outskirts of Abilene, told me I was wrong about the temperature. It was already 80.
8:25am - Denton Valley Store. Good thing I had one beer in my cooler left, it looked like it had been a few years since this establishment had served any customers.
I had gotten off the major highway, and onto a two laner. No more highways or freeways until a short stretch, just coming into Killeen (pronounced kill een)… my final destination for this trip.
9:00am - Crossplains. How many dry Counties are there in Texas? I did find sunscreen and aloe though. My skin was turning into 'A Darker Shade of Leather.'
Met Victor, who said there was a lot of construction going on in Abilene. I would've never guessed it from what I had seen. I knew that it was true in Killeen though… that's the reason I was headed there, and his news gave me hope that I would be able to find steady employment for the first time in too many years.
9:10am - Passed a turn off to a town named 'Nimrod'. I kid you not. I would love to meet some people from that town… I bet I'd fit right in.
9:15am - Rising Star. A different County… but the same dry story. A local told me that he thought that Comanche, down the road was damp. When I told him my guess as to what that meant, he confirmed me to be correct… beer and wine, but no liquor.
10:00am - Comanche. The guy in the last town was right, but what he didn't mention to me was that there was a new law (throughout Texas) that wouldn't allow the sale of any alcohol before noon on Sundays. I wondered if God was trying to tell me something.
I still love Texas, but I've decided that if I'm gonna do road trips in this State, I have only three options: 1) drink less; 2) ride faster thru the dry Counties; or 3) carry a bigger ice chest.
The clerk at the mini mart told me that Gatesville, down the road was damp, but it was only an hour's ride, and it would be only 11am when I got there. I sure didn't want to run the risk of continuing down the road, finding myself in another one of those confounded dry Counties when the drinking lantern was finally lit. That would have been a horrible thing… no… it would have been a disaster.
10:30am - Hamilton. I stopped at Storms, a cozy little country style restaurant. Their parking lot was full, so I figured it would be a good place to get some grub and kill some time. $4.32 for a 3-egg omelet with cheese, onions, hash browns, toast, and a side of salsa. I love Texas. The only thing was, just like last night… the salsa was as tasteless as bland tomato sauce. I added some Tabasco to put a little life in it.
12:30pm - Gatesville. I stopped at three different stores, and spent over an hour trying to find a Texas State Flag for Honey. No luck. But I did find some beer, thank ya jesus.
1:00pm - Copperas Cove. Stopped at two more stores, looking for Honey's Flag. Interesting… as proud as Texans are of their State, they sure are making it hard for me to show that Honey and I are too.
1:36pm - Killeen. Taumie's House. Final Destination. 209 miles for the day.
2,406 for the Voyage. Bon, that is.
EPILOGUE
The next day, even before I could schedule my first interview for employment, I got a call from Gaeir, the gal I'd met just before leaving. After only three dates, and less than two hours in bed, she told me she wanted me to move in and live with her, and be her 'personal assistant'.
She told me she would support me in my effort to follow my new path towards a better understanding of my spirituality. She also offered her experience and knowledge that she gained while working as an editor for a publishing firm, to help me become a published author. I'm crossing my fingers for both.
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