Texas Part 1

             Every thing is definitely bigger in Texas including the problems…but luckily so is the help… I drove for 8 long hours from Santa Fe to Abaline, TX through a whole lot of nothing.  I know I have said that before but this time I mean it, NOTHING.   Charlie and I found ourselves in Abaline State Park, a lovely enough place after seeing hours and hours of…you guessed it, nothing.  We set up camp for the night and had avocado on toast for dinner.  Sunday morning I was only 6 hours outside of Galveston and ready for a day on the beach, so I went for a run before loading everything up and getting on the road for what I thought would be another long day of driving.

            It was a long day, but not of driving.  I read a computer screen saver once that said “Most of the things you worry about never actually happen.”  I thought, yeah, you know that’s true!  Just not in my case today.  I have been joking about breaking down in the middle of Texas since the beginning of the trip because it’s remoteness and reputation for redneck ruffians makes seem most undesireable, so maybe I jinkxed myself, or maybe it’s just rotten luck….

Stella broke down about 3 hours into the day in a place called Gatesville.  Heard of it? Yeah didn’t think so…neither had I, or anyone I’ve ever known!! Anyway, I coaxed her into a Walgreen’s parking lot right off the highway where a nice man and his wife helped me push her out of the way.  After stopping she wouldn’t even start again so I called the only place open on Sunday (AutoZone) to see if I could have someone come run diagnostics on poor Ms. Stella.  The owner said because of the Sabbath he was alone in the shop but would call his son (not an AutoZone employee) to see if he could come look at it. 

Thank God for knowledgeable car-men!!! He determined my car wasn’t getting any gas and I pretended to know what he was talking about as he explained I would have to have it towed.  So I busted out my shiny-new-never-been-used AAA card and in about 2 hours Stella was loaded onto the tuck.  The tow guy was the nicest man ever and we chatted about the football game he was watching before I ruined his Sunday afternoon as he hauled us to the car doctor. The nearest Volkswagen dealer happen to only be about 30 miles away (lucky!) so we took her there to be looked at first thing in the morning.  The tow guy even gave me a ride to the Super 8 across the highway, for which I rewarded him with a jar of applesauce and a million thanks, because that was all I had to give.  He seemed excited.

            So for the rest of the evening, I watched cable and Charlie tried to exterminate all the flies in our foul hotel room (mission not accomplished). It think there may be drug deals going on in the back...door locked, check…deadbolt, broken…fingers crossed, check…

Ok so Monday was a win! I found what I am almost certain was a water bottle partially filled with urine in the parking lot and smashed a large cricket in the corner of my room.  If you know me, then you know that was quite a feat as I am mortally terrified of crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, moths, and all other bugs that are totally harmless to humans; and yes, I screamed when it crunched under my shoe.  Really though it was the biggest even of the day. I tried to take Charlie for a walk but seeing as this hotel is off a freeway exit on a tiny island of pavement there was nowhere to go unless I wanted to get smashed myself. So we settled for continental breakfast and a marathon of Law and Order .  Admittedly not my most favorite part of the trip but on the bright side, the shop said my car will be really to roll again tomorrow which is fantastic news, because missing my morning run is bumming me out. 

            But hey, this is what it’s all about right?! What’s and adventure without a room that smells like cigarettes and is filled with bugs? Without trying to strategically cross 6 lanes of highway to get my dinner? Without the creepy repair man “fixing” things in the parking lot all the time? Without wondering if my bathtub is coming away from the wall because the building is so old or if it’s because a body is hidden behind it? Without those things, why, it’s hardly an adventure at all is it now?    

            Haha you know me; I get carried away. It’s not so bad and honestly Charlie and I have enjoyed the downtime after so much go go go.  Everything happens for a reason and for whatever reason I was meant to stay a few days in Temple, Texas.  Maybe it’s so now I can give an honest opinion about which WWE wrestling champs are legit and which are wussys, because that conversation comes up so often in daily life.  But hey, that’s all that’s on at 2pm on Monday afternoons apparently, so you never know…I could win a game show with that knowledge and then I’ll be thanking God above for Temple, Texas and all it’s charm…