The second road trip to Austin began last week. This was a different kind of road trip, concentrating on people rather than sights. Our first stop was in Chincoteague at our normal haunt.
The second stop brought us to Raleigh, NC, to reconnect with an old friend from grad school. Sam (and wife Ilona) were very kind to us, putting us up for the night, wining and dining us, and providing great conversation. Sam was in the class after me at UF, and was a neighbor for a year or two. We spent a lot of time together. He was brash, young, very bright, and full of energy. He still is! Sam regularly bikes 60 miles to a lakeside home in Virginia. He lectures, writes, consults, and starts companies. We had a great time and will probably trade visits from now on. It felt like we picked up exactly where we left off 30-odd years ago.
The third stop was in Decatur to see one of E's cousins. We had reconnected in Mandeville, Jamaica once before. The family also maintains a home in Georgia, where the jobs were. We had a delightful evening accompanied by white rum, then visited another cousin the next day. E's cousin is married to Conrad, who has two brothers Winston and Tyrone. The brothers sound like they should be movie starts! Winston is a Ph.D. biologist who had a long career at the CDC in Atlanta, studying hemorrhagic diseases. Conrad is a grocer, part of the Mandeville Moo Penn family. This also was a very enjoyable visit.
The fourth stop was in Jackson, MS, after a long and boring drive. This route took us on US 20, which doesn't seem nearly as entertaining as US 30. At any rate, this drive took us through a monsoon. We had wipers on full and still couldn't see the road properly. This made for miserable driving with trucks throwing up nasty spray and cars driving at 20 mph under their normal speeds.
The fifth stop took us to Terrell, TX, where we met Monalisa at our motel. Monalisa was a vivacious, pretty woman with a great attitude. She was cheerful, helpful, and welcoming. She told me her mother named her for the song, sung by Nat King Cole, Elvis, and Willie Nelson, among others.
Then we went on to Austin, picking up H at school. She is taking extra courses to qualify for nurse training. Apparently it takes more than a BS in biology to get in. It is nice to reach here and see H and D. Now for some family adventures. Our other daughter L will join us for 10 days. We'll see what evolves.
