I LOVE TEXAS - Day 7 (and epilogue) - 825 words

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.

I LOVE TEXAS - Day 6 - 1.7k words

FORT SUMNER, NM to ABILENE, TX   (Saturday, July 25)

1:30am - Rats.  Couldn't sleep.  Oh well, I had wanted to get an early start anyway and beat the afternoon heat, so… up and at 'em.  6½ hours of good sleep was more than enough anyway.

4:00am - Caught up with a bunch of emails, mostly from Gaeir, the gal who was supposed to give me that wake up call on my first night out.  I'd met her on OKCupid because I wanted to associate with someone about spirituality instead of sex.  Sex was fun and I know I'll never give it up, but I'd decided I wanted to try something other than the movie star gorgeous type of girlfriend.  I wanted to give something else a chance.  You'll hear more about that (and Gaeir) later.

The birds were starting to chirp, so I knew it was time I started packing up Honey.  I wanted to hit the road just before sunrise this morning.  Then I met Angel.  She came across the parking lot from her room and walked right up to my door and started talking like it was the middle of the day… loud and fast.

6:00am - Two hours later, and she was still going at it.  Even after I had asked her to give me some space so I could concentrate on getting packed… she just kept on talking.  For a while she was sitting outside my door on the porch, talking to herself.  Poor, lost angel… she was kinda sweet in a way… but troubled to say the least.  She said that her car had broken down and that she was going to the swimmin' hole, to try and find a ride somewhere else.  She said she didn't care where, as long as it was somewhere else.

One of the funny things she told me was that Angelia Jolie had it out for her because she had stolen Brad Pitt away from her for a while, early in their relationship. 

The last time she wandered into my room before I left, she was wearing a skimpy little tank top and black see-thru underwear.  Too bad she was a bit off… she was cute enough to have a go-around with under different circumstances.

6:05am - On the road.

6:15am - Took a 3-mile detour to watch the sunrise over Billy The Kid's Grave.

7:00am - Melrose.  Wanted a beer and some ice, but was in a dry County.

7:30am - Clovis… still dry... gas, water, and ice.

9:30am - Texas.  Sudan, Texas… and… BEER.  I love Texas.  I packed five of the six cans into the pre-cooled ice chest, but for some reason I didn't crack open the one I was holding in my hand, and about five seconds later a Texas Ranger pulled up and parked right next to me.  Without acting suspicious, I tucked it under my leather jacket, which was draped over Honey's tail bag… lit a smoke… and took my journal out, to make the entry I'm now writing about.

It wasn't long before the Ranger came out of the store and left.  He wasn't out of the parking lot yet, when I was reaching underneath my jacket with my body between my still ice-cold faithful friend, and the Ranger.  I opened and drank the beer while chatting with Steve, who warned me to be careful and to, "Watch out for those Rangers", as he sipped from his metal flask which most likely contained whiskey or bourbon.

10:45am - Lubbock.  Taco Bell and my first junk food of the trip at the 2K-mile mark.

11:45am - Post.  It was long past due time to get off Highway 84, the four lane highway I'd been on for way too long.  At least it hadn't been a 'freeway', but still… Honey and I were both getting tired and bored of the straight-line syndrome.

12:45pm - Clairmont.                Kent County Jail House… Rock.

The door was falling off its hinges, so I cautiously stuck my head in to look around.  It was one big room, full of steel cages.  There were food containers, old tattered clothes, and other types of garbage scattered all over the floor, and the smell of urine was nauseating.  I thought to myself that this place must've been horrible while it was being used, but now abandoned and being abused… it was disgusting and sickening.  Honey and I scrambled outta there, pronto.

1:30pm - Roby… another dry town in another dry County.  At least they had ice for my warmies though.  I sat in the comfort of the air-conditioned mini mart, and made journal entries while they got cold.  After about five minutes, I popped a beverage of choice and hit the road.  Abilene, my chosen destination for the day, was only a couple hours away.  It was getting warm…  95 with an expected high of 105.

2:00pm - The little highway I was following bypassed the town of Sweetwater, but I was sure to find a gas station when it merged onto Interstate-20.  Nope… and this was gonna be close.  I calc'd Honey had about 15 miles left in her tummy, and Abilene was 30 miles away.  The map showed some little squares between here and there, so… I went into my tuck position, to make us as streamlined as possible.

2:20pm - Whew.  Trent… with gas available signs.  Nope... strike two… the signs were wrong.  I merged back onto the freeway and lowered myself into an even more streamlined position.  I laughed to myself, 'cuz the last two times I'd run out of gas were both in Texas, on my previous trip to Killeen last year.

2:35pm - I coasted to the off ramp, and pulled over to the side of the frontage road. 

2:36pm - I didn't even have time to take off my shirt to wave someone down.  The first vehicle that came by stopped and asked if they could help.  I love Texas.  Joey and Billy refused to take any money and said they'd be back in 20 minutes with some gas for Honey.  Begrudgingly, Joey accepted the $25 I forced into his hand.

2:40pm - Off they went.                                                                                                               

2:41pm - Jim, in the next vehicle that drove by, stopped.  Again, without me even acting like I needed any help whatsoever.  What is it about people in Texas being so darned nice?  He offered to give me the ½ gallon of gas he had in the back of his truck, but I told him I was sure that Joey and Billy would be back, and I didn't want to be rude, having them show up and find me gone, after going thru their effort.  I laughed to myself after Jim drove off, 'cuz I remembered they'd taken the $25, and would've been fine with that.

2:45pm - Three cars slowed down to stop, but continued on, only after I waved to them, and gave them the ok sign that I didn't need help.                                                      

2:48pm - Ty and his girlfriend rolled to a stop in front of me.  I hadn't seen or heard them coming, so I got up from the shade and meandered over to their car to chat a spell.  Really nice kids.  Again, they had gas with them, and offered it to me for free.  As before, I passed up their offer.  Funny huh?  Here I was, stuck on the side of the road, and I turned down multiple offers that would've had me moving again.

3:12pm - When Joey and Billy pulled up, I walked up to the truck, and said with as straight a face as I could manage… "You're twelve minutes late".  Before they left, Joey forced the $25 back into my hand and said to me, "Maybe you'll find me on the side of the road someday."  I gave him one of my business cards, and said, "Please call me the next time you're in the Austin area, I'd like to buy you dinner".

                                                   Joey & Billy, outside Abilene

3:20pm - Fueled up at gas station not more than two miles up the freeway.  It was only 45 minutes after I had coasted to a stop.  I love Texas.

3:45pm - Abilene.  Beered and iced up, I started looking for my motel.  I hoped to find one with a pool and jacuzzi, but being able to park outside the door to my room was really the only necessity.

4:30pm - At the fourth motel I stopped at, I finally found one with a pool and the parking.  Abilene seemed dirty to me.  Most of the motels were closed down and falling apart, and there was a scent of financial depression in the air.

4:45pm - After a quick dip in the pool and a cold beer, I showered and walked down the street for some Chinese food.

5:30pm - I'd decided on Mexican instead of Chinese for dinner.  Bad choice.  I don't remember EVER having such bland, almost tasteless Mexican food before.  I literally drank both the green and the red, hot sauces out of their serving bowls.  The dinner was edible, but not really enjoyable.  I do not recommend the Fenix restaurant in Abilene.  The waitresses were cute though.

One more thing about dinner, and then I'll move on.  When I ordered a house margarita, the waitress told me their machine was broken.  I told them I didn't want it blended anyway, and that the perfect margarita was equal parts of Jose Cuervo Gold, Quantro, and fresh squeezed limejuice.  She responded that the only kind of margarita they served was made with wine.  No… I do not recommend the Fenix.

Before retiring for the night, I hung out with John and Tino… two out of work construction workers barbequing their dinner, out in the parking lot of the motel.

6:30pm - Curled up in bed, watching TV.

8:15pm - Woke up and turned off the TV.      365 miles for the day, 2,197 for the trip.