We made it around 10:15 this morning. Time to rest! Not much traffic on I-35 from Waxahachie down. It felt like home when we got here.
In the afternoon we loaded up boxes, picked up H from work, then unloaded at the new apartment. Nice location and a nice little complex. It is older and has nice established plants and trees. There is a great herb garden. The location is perfect for H and D, just across the street from the park, a short walk to downtown, and on the bus line. Nice...
Tonight we went to Freddie's, a strange kind of place. Just as we got on the road H yelled, turned around, and parked in a driveway. Then she opened the door and ran across the road. I followed and found her enjoying a tarantula she had spotted as she drove. We watched it be still for a bit, then H made some noise and scared it off the road so it wouldn't get run over.
Most of Freddie's is outdoors, under some really big live oaks. It was kids night, unfortunately. That is a noisy combination of kids yelling and Moms winding down with a few drinks and their friends. We had a good meal, a couple of beers, then left. As we walked through the parking lot a guy on a bike rolled past with his dog in a side car. This is Austin. I really like it
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Interesting day today
We jumped up early, leaving around Rolla, Missouri around 7:30 for a long day of driving. We targeted Waxahachie, Texas for our stopping point (just south of Dallas and just north of Waco).
An hour or so into the drive I got an email (via my phone) from a CNN editor. She wanted more info so she could publish my CNN iReport on Texas barbecue on the CNN Travel page. I called her up and gave her more particulars. Here is the iReport: Texas barbecue. Stay tuned to the CNN Travel page on Thursday or Friday to see it pumped up.
We had a nice pull through the Ozarks, with some beautiful misted lakes. A couple valleys had lovely fog limning their lengths a couple hundred feet over the roadway. We would like to come back and see more. There are lots of caverns to see along the way, including one that seemed to stretch for 10 miles or more.
Then we took a side road, skipping Oklahoma City and running down through the Oklahoma lake country. We passed Muskogee (always wanted to see it, after listening to "Okie from Muskogee") and Eufaula. The lakes were quite big and kind of red from recent rains. The road (aptly named Route 69) was 4 lanes and fast, then slow, then fast again, and noisy the whole way. The thump, thump, thump of bad concrete road kept us annoyed for about 3 hours. Fortunately the fast spots were 70+ mph and fairly light in traffic.
So, here we are just about three hours from Austin. Can't wait to see H&D.
An hour or so into the drive I got an email (via my phone) from a CNN editor. She wanted more info so she could publish my CNN iReport on Texas barbecue on the CNN Travel page. I called her up and gave her more particulars. Here is the iReport: Texas barbecue. Stay tuned to the CNN Travel page on Thursday or Friday to see it pumped up.
We had a nice pull through the Ozarks, with some beautiful misted lakes. A couple valleys had lovely fog limning their lengths a couple hundred feet over the roadway. We would like to come back and see more. There are lots of caverns to see along the way, including one that seemed to stretch for 10 miles or more.
Then we took a side road, skipping Oklahoma City and running down through the Oklahoma lake country. We passed Muskogee (always wanted to see it, after listening to "Okie from Muskogee") and Eufaula. The lakes were quite big and kind of red from recent rains. The road (aptly named Route 69) was 4 lanes and fast, then slow, then fast again, and noisy the whole way. The thump, thump, thump of bad concrete road kept us annoyed for about 3 hours. Fortunately the fast spots were 70+ mph and fairly light in traffic.
So, here we are just about three hours from Austin. Can't wait to see H&D.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
On the road again - finally
I have been "enduring" a gig in Manhattan for the last month or so. It involved about 5 hours/day of commuting. It was a true grind. So, I'm really glad that Esther and I are on the way to Texas again. We are as far as Missouri now, with a couple of strange things behind us on this trip.
Yesterday we stayed on the road far longer than usual. We stopped by the original motel and canceled, then drove for another two or three hours, ending up near Columbus, Ohio. There we experienced our first drive-thru checkin! It was weird. They had a drawer like a bank, and asked for my credit card and driver's license. Then they handed out the keys via the drawer. This was not the best of places. It was a bit old and rundown. The non-smoking rooms smelled like cigarette smoke. But we endured.
During the evening I canceled a Days Inn reservation. During the conversation I discovered that, despite the fact the reservation was two days off, they had charged me for the room and would refund nothing. Apparently I received a special discount (via their website). The conditions of the discount, which were never made clear to me, were those mentioned above. I normally get a popup or something similar that let's me know when a credit charge will be made immediately. I am now going all Caesar Chavez on their ass. Huelga! Huelga! No lechugas for you bastards!
Tonight's stay is in a brand new Super 8 that has clean and spacious rooms. The GPS took us 8 miles on a back country dirt road to get here, instead of asking us to turn right immediately after leaving the interstate. Go figure. We must have passed by it at some point without seeing it early in the trip.
Long days should get us there a bit earlier than anticipated. We'll see what else happens out here in the middle of Willy Nelson's song.
Yesterday we stayed on the road far longer than usual. We stopped by the original motel and canceled, then drove for another two or three hours, ending up near Columbus, Ohio. There we experienced our first drive-thru checkin! It was weird. They had a drawer like a bank, and asked for my credit card and driver's license. Then they handed out the keys via the drawer. This was not the best of places. It was a bit old and rundown. The non-smoking rooms smelled like cigarette smoke. But we endured.
During the evening I canceled a Days Inn reservation. During the conversation I discovered that, despite the fact the reservation was two days off, they had charged me for the room and would refund nothing. Apparently I received a special discount (via their website). The conditions of the discount, which were never made clear to me, were those mentioned above. I normally get a popup or something similar that let's me know when a credit charge will be made immediately. I am now going all Caesar Chavez on their ass. Huelga! Huelga! No lechugas for you bastards!
Tonight's stay is in a brand new Super 8 that has clean and spacious rooms. The GPS took us 8 miles on a back country dirt road to get here, instead of asking us to turn right immediately after leaving the interstate. Go figure. We must have passed by it at some point without seeing it early in the trip.
Long days should get us there a bit earlier than anticipated. We'll see what else happens out here in the middle of Willy Nelson's song.
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