DAY 11 - Monday, November 3, 2008
This turned out to be the best overall day of the entire adventure. As you'll read… I experienced some wonderful roads with Honey… got some really good business/ work leads… and met some exquisite specimens of the local wildlife.
This was going to be my last day in Killeen before heading homeward, and I wanted to see what the Austin area was like. I got on the road around 8am and headed east, to begin my chosen route, which would take me on a big loop around the greater Austin area (GAA). I had to get on the freeway, but only for a few miles, and when I got off and pulled up to the stop sign, I was surprised to see that I had accidentally stumbled upon the place where Brynn and her brother Brice worked. I went in and left a card with the manager, and asked her to tell them that I was sorry I missed them. I just love examples of how small this world is.
I made my first real stop (gas and stretch) in a little town called Holland. The MMGS I stopped at had the best little tamales I've ever had, and at an incredible price… three for $1.29. Back home, you'd pay more than that for just one of 'em.
When I got to the only other freeway section of the day's route, I decided to pull over and take off some layers. It was about 11am and even though it was November, it was supposed to be near 90 that day. When I was standing there in the parking lot, I stood for a while in my bare chest… soaking in the sun. It wasn't hot yet, not by any means. A little breeze blew through, and it put goose bumps on my arms, so I put on my long sleeve t-shirt and leather jacket.
I was really surprised when I was pulling out of the parking lot and saw a big sign that said it was 80 degrees. It felt more like 60 to me. I had been riding in warm temps over the last week and a half, and was amazed at how fast my body had become acclimated. 80 and it felt cool to me. Two weeks ago 80 woulda felt almost unbearably hot to me.
The freeway took me across the south side of the GAA and over the only hills I'd seen since leaving Killeen. They were soft and rolling hills, but by now I was starting to understand why that old cowboy back in Sweetwater had told me the 50-foot hill was really big.
It was green here, as I had been told, but I was disappointed to see how flat it was. I had also been told of the beautiful mountains, rivers, and lakes, I but hadn't seen any evidence of them yet either. My road map showed some bodies of water on the west side of town so I sucked it up, and hoped for the best.
By the time I turned north to start my exploration of west Austin, the terrain had changed dramatically for the better. The fifty-foot hills had turned into 500-foot hills and the low grasses and shrubs had begun to be replaced with some oaks and other medium-sized trees.
My sprits rose and so did another part of my body, when I pulled up next to a fellow biker sister at a stoplight. She was wearing a pink leather jacket with tassels, a pink skull type helmet, and form-fitting jeans. She politely gave me a nod as I pulled up on her right, but kept her attention straight ahead. I tried to get her to let me buy her a soda pop, but she pointed to a ring on her finger and said that her husband was a correctional officer at the local prison. I smiled politely and told her, "That's great… that's a wonderful profession." And then, "Don't worry about me, I'm not trying to be disrespectful." I could tell she relaxed a little bit, but not enough for her to be convinced that I was safe. I smiled and waved and she nodded her head as we went our separate directions at the next light.
The next little suburb of the GAA was called Bee Cave, and I could tell I was finally seeing an area of Texas that might be right for me. The houses were getting bigger and more spread out, and the terrain was getting to be almost mountainous. Not really… but after so many hundreds and hundreds of miles of nothing but flat… it was definitely a relief to see full-sized trees and lush landscaping.
I needed to stop and stretch and I wanted to see if I could find some work leads, so I turned into the entrance of a very exclusive looking golf course. I figured if there were businessmen to be found, this was as good a place to look for them as any.
Troy, one of the golfers in the pro shop wasn't able to help, but the manager Bobby, was nice enough to give me six names of some of the local builders who specialized in high-end custom homes. Before leaving I was able to convince him to allow me to bring Honey up the sidewalk to the pro shop for a photo op, and when I got her posed in front of the line of golf carts, he came out the door with Jerry and Heather, two other Falconhead Country Club employees.
After some quick chit-chat and snap-click, I got myself back on Honey and continued winding my way thru some of the prettiest countryside I'd seen since leaving the Flagstaff area. I thought that if I had to move to Texas, this would be easily my first choice as the area to live. I finally saw for myself what so many people had told me about… Austin is not like most of Texas.
Just up the road from Bee Cave was Lakewood and the opulent homes and estate-sized lots were as big as any I'd ever seen in any community, anywhere. If the economy is hurting, the people living in this area certainly weren't showing any of the effects. New homes were under construction all over the place, scattered across almost every hillside, for miles and miles.
I pulled down a side road, hoping to get a vantage point of Lake Travis… the biggest body of water I'd seen since leaving the west cost, not knowing that lady luck was about to deal me a potentially winning hand. I found a good place to take a picture… it was from the patio of a very exclusive resort hotel called The Oasis… and inside I met the owner/ developer, who took one of my resume and work history envelopes and said he would consider me for the position he was looking to fill, for an upcoming sub-division of custom homes he was starting construction on, at the beginning of the year.
As I was leaving I asked Chris, the waiter who introduced me to Mr. Theriot, if he would mind posing for a picture for my journal. He happily agreed and grabbed Gwen (the hostess) for some added arm decoration/ eye candy. Good man, Chris.
Unfortunately that picture didn't turn out, so you'll hafta settle for one of the lake.
My circular route around the GAA put me on another freeway for a short time and I was slightly bummed about what I ran into, but was about to be rewarded, as I pulled over at the tollbooth. I parked Honey off to the side, so as to keep the line moving while removing my gloves and digging out the $1.50 fee.
As I was reaching into my pocket, a gorgeous brunette pulled up and started whining about not having any money. My guess was that she wasn't acting, as she was driving a Lexus, and was dressed like an executive of a fortune 500 company. I waited patiently as she continued her (really cute) whining and fumbling with the coins she found as she dug thru the bottom of her purse.
Thank you Ms. Luck… Ned to the rescue. I asked her how much she was short, and she counted the coins in her palm and said, "Seventy five cents". I gave her a dollar bill and one of my business cards, and said to her, "Hi, I'm Ned from California, and remember, not all of us are bad." She looked up, batted her lashes, and said, "Hi Ned from California… I'm Gretchen from Texas, and I'm not that bad either". I started to reply with something like, "Oh, that's too bad Gretchen, I was looking for someone to be bad with," but the guy at the toll booth cut me off, telling us we were holding up traffic.
I blew her a friendly kiss and got back on Honey, as she squealed her tires and sped off down the highway. I thought about trying to catch her, and then decided against it. I didn't want to appear desperate. Besides… she already had my card with my cell number… she'd call if she was interested.
Remember readers… I'm only woofing it up here. What I said about myself being all bark and no bite is true. I do not have any current desire to be with anyone other than Donna. She loves me tremendously, and I love her. At times however, I do feel sorry for her, that her boyfriend is such a terrible flirt.
I got off the freeway about 5 miles up the road, and took off on County Road #1431. My day was about to get even better. I picked the road because it was a very crooked small black line on my road map, and I wanted to try and find a road where Honey-the-road-and-I might be able to become connected. My guess turned out to be correct. As we left the outskirts of the GAA, it was a 4-laner, very similar to the one I told you about, coming out of Carrizozo… long banked turns, with good visibility, and smooth pavement. And after about five miles it got much better. It narrowed to two lanes, and the curves got tighter. Once in a while there was a short straightaway, but for the next 40 miles or so, it was nothing but really fun turns.
About ½ way to Marble Flats, the next town ahead, I noticed a black sports car creeping up behind me. I was goin' about 60mph thru turns marked at 30. This guy obviously knew the road better than I did, so when he caught up to me, I let him pass at the first opportunity. I always do that sort of thing, as I appreciate it when other drivers do it for me.
As the car was passing me, I saw that it wasn't a guy, it was a longhaired blonde gal driving, and she had another blonde girlfriend sitting next to her. I saw the passenger wave a thank you to me as they passed, but the road and our speed didn't allow me to see their faces.
I fell in line behind them and was able to keep up with them… now feeling more comfortable being behind someone who was familiar with the road, or at least someone who could notify me with their brake lights if the upcoming turn was a tight one or not. I stayed on their tail as we wound our way up, down, and around some of the prettiest country I'd seen on my trip, and by far the best/ most fun road.
After about 10 miles the road became gravel. They were doing repairs, so I had to fall back, both because of the little rocks the car was throwing up behind it, and the loss in traction on Honey's hooves. By the time I got thru the road repair area, and the road became pavement again, they were nowhere to be seen. They didn't have my business card yet, so I wouldn't seem desperate if I chased them down, so I did.
I caught up to them as we were getting to town. I pulled up next to them at the stop light and said, "Thanks for leading the way, that was a great road… I coulda kept up with ya if it wasn't for the gravel." The driver looked over at me with the biggest bluest eyes I'd ever seen, and with an engaging twinkle in her eye, said something like, "Yeah, I always look forward to this road, it's fun when there's no traffic."
The light was turning green, but there were about 10 cars in front of us, so I knew I had time. I pulled off a glove… grabbed one of my cards… and handed it to her. She said thank you, and asked her girlfriend to grab a card out of her purse for me. I took a glance back, and the guy in the car behind me was smiling at me. He gave me the 'it's ok, take your time, I'll wait signal.' What a gentleman. I gave him a wink, a nod, and a thumbs up thank you signal, and then proceeded to exchange cards with my new potential victims. I told you this was a good day.
The traffic was moving up to the red light really slowly, so I walked Honey along-side them as we moved forward. I asked them if they had time to let me buy them a soda pop, but the driver said that they were already late for a meeting, then recommended that I go to a saloon called 'Our Bar', and gave me directions.
When I found the place I smiled… it wasn't 'Our Bar'… it was 'R Bar', like in a branding iron. They guessed correctly about what type of saloons I prefer… authentic and unpretentious. I dismounted Honey, and if I'd had a rope, I would've wrapped it around the hitching post that was on the street where I parked.
I went inside and ordered a bottle of the nectar of the gods (that's beer ya'all) and walked out thru the double swinging louvered doors to the back patio. Just as I was finishing looking at Kristy and Misty's card (the blondes in the Mercedes, obviously friends and business partners), Christine walked over to my table and handed me one of her cards.
She was a hair stylist/ masseuse and told me she had an opening that afternoon, if I wanted a treatment. She wasn’t nearly as cute as the brunette at the toll booth or the blondes in the Mercedes, but I sucked it up and flirted with her for a few minutes anyway. Texas was shaping up to be a place that I might enjoy after all. Jeesh… I crack myself up. This creative writing/ story telling stuff is pretty fun. I could make up all sorts of sordid scenarios, couldn't I? But I won't. I'm a dog, but honest dog.
I thanked the bar tender Eddie for the beer, and tipped him generously… as though he had anything to do with all the girls I'd just met over the last hour and a half. I took his pic and went out and unhitched Honey. I told her how much I loved her… and took off goin' north, for the last leg of that day's chosen route, back to Killeen.
I got back to Taumie's house just after dusk, around 6pm. A day of 298 miles of great roads… a few possible employment opportunities… and five girls to boot. Yep, it had been a great day… a perfect day. After getting settled at the house, I had a couple hours of laughing, crying, and sharing deep meaningful thoughts and ideas with Taumie & Family, and then to bed around 8pm. Tomorrow was gonna start early for me. I was gonna begin my journey homeward.
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