Ok so, I hate to admit it, but I spent $60 today, which is a decent chunk for my unemployed behind to drop, but it was what created, what must seem like malay to most (see above photo), but what was a perfect harmony for myself. Just a stupid little adapter and a decent I trip for my Ipod. (which is sort of a oxymoron because the I trips SUCK, but it worked better than most I've tried and returned to the store) But really, it made another pretty insane day, MUCH more bearable. Thanks again to anyone who contributed to the cause too!!! It was a key purchase, because now I can power my I pod, the navigational system, and charge my phone all at once. AWESOME.
And to continue with the good cheer, after yesterday's bit of complaining, I would bet that I'm sitting in the most serene place I could possibly be to write my blog entry tonight. I'm sitting on a veranda, I think for the 1st time. I had to check it on dictonary.com, admittedly. However, I was right. SO...it's this gorgeous brick and stone modeled veranda overlooking a quite lake and rolling tree covered hills with all this....
Wait a minute....I have no idea what's out there. It's totally freakin black. I'll get back to you tomorrow on the details and with pics.
But anyways...
Willie Nelson has a house here. And btw, here is 'Spicewood' Texas. I can understand quickly why Willie takes residence here. I could sit and play my guitar and write songs out here all night long. There's the perfect mix of no sound and yet still sounds. It's quiet, but you still here crickets chirping, cicadas singing, and I actually just think I heard a deer about 20 yards away. I passed about 7 of them on the way in. NO LIE. All in all, I haven't seen the beauty yet in the light of day, but I couldn't be more pleased with my current state of mind, other than trying to keep the bugs off of the computer screen. I actually succumbed to just lettin 'em hang out as long as they'd like. I can type right through 'em. No worries :)
They haven't had rain here since March. At which point they received larger-than-golf ball size hail, and everyone had to get new roofs because of it. Crazy right? The whole scenario. Anyone remember what we were doing in Detroit in March? I do. I WAS STILL WEARING LONG JOHNS.
Now, I do have to get a little bit off my chest about the drive, now that I've sunny'd things up for you a little bit. Here's the thing. Most of us come from Detroit right? It's the "motor city". Everyone at least knows that, even if you live in another region of the country. Well...I'm sorry, but I have to give Texas the award for the "motor state". Because if you don't motor your booty off on the roads, you're getting your ass ran over by someone. Everything was actually pretty decent on the way from "Texarkana". Texarkana is a city that, if you dissect the name and it's origins, you may be able to discern that it's a city that falls at the exact spot that Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas come together. John Lennon would be proud of the name. Another "combo name" (and no, you can't get fries with that) that I drove through today was "Arkadelphia". This one really through me for a loop, so I looked it up. The city was actually named "Blakelytown" until the settlement agreed to change the name, but we can only guess that they were trying to combine Arkansas and Philadelphia, which at the time was a heralded city in the U.S., and the combination is supposed to mean "The Ark of brotherly love", as opposed to the "City of brotherly love". Sounds like a stretch to me, but of course, I'm over-ran in the Detroit area with French, Belgium, and old British street and city names. But admittedly, those have been SO over-used and I say, "stretch or no", at least they were trying to be unique. Wow, that was a long story. Hope you enjoyed it. Anyways, I did really want to talk about the awful driving I witnessed but more closely related to my current point, here are a couple more unique names of cities or roads today:
- Friendship, TX
- Fate, TX
- And a free way exit, with a exit number included, but then just simply stating, "New Road"
That last one is funny. I'm not sure if I would think, "Awesome! Let's check out the new road!" Or think more along the lines of not buying a new car line in the model year and say, "Let's wait till that pavement settles". Too funny.
Then I drove up on Waco texas. Remember David Koresh? It was SO long ago. No matter how bad Detroit gets, be glad your not from a mid-size southern industrial city, only remembered for an insane cult leader that convinced people he was Jesus before setting a building on fire and killing 75 people, 21 of them children. Now that's fucked up, scuse my french. (1st time I've used the F word!) And to think, at first, I was actually thinking, "Ya know...I could stop off at that Walmart, get a pair of reading glasses, a cotton plaid shit, and a curling iron and probably freak a couple people out. But...probably even STILL too soon."
So, about the driving. The whole "motor state" thing. People drive really really fast down here. Which, when the road is open and forgiving, is fine and dandy by me. When things get tight and windy in really small lanes at high speeds, people still don't let you set your own pace. And most people drive VERY large trucks, because "Everything is bigger in Texas", ya know? And the entrances to the freeways are barely marked. It literally took me three tries to get on to I-35 south today. I felt retarded, but thankfully a very nice couple that I'm staying with admitted that they had trouble with it too in the past. SLIGHT consolation.
Then, the way the freeway mergers are down here are psychotic, to say the very least. The way it goes down is, there is what I'm gonna call a "short track" in which it's a race to beat the oncoming traffic onto the freeway. It's sort of like throwing a dart at a dart board, already covered from end to end in darts, but the dart was thrown at full speed and it's gotta go somewhere or it will drop to a grave doom. I'm pleased to admit that I saw no grave doom, but plenty of swerving, dodging, and braking because the person getting on the freeway has a yield sign that has about as much meaning the diver's assumed B.A.L is at the time, because everyone just speeds up to 70 on the ramp and says, "Move over bitches, I'm coming on and you better like it". Now that's either inebriated or just takes some serious balls. That merging lane ends in as short as 100-200 feet sometimes. It was scary to watch repeatedly. I just hung out in the left lane and avoided the debacle. But the one time I did have to exit for gas, it again took me 3 times to enter the freeway because I had to follow a dirt road for about a half mile before a very sudden and sharp left that jutted you onto the freeway, in the disastrous yielding situation I just described. The other trick that the roads down here liked to play on you is the..."hey it's a freeway, now it's not, now it's a freeway at pace of 70+, now a red light out of nowhere." I'm glad I replaced my front brakes before I left. Thanks again Hub!
Fyi, they have lots of Sonic burger restaurants down here. That is some guuuuuuuud stuff.
As I was getting close to Austin, I believe right before Rockwood, I looked left and saw a billboard entitled, "Statuary store". Guess what it sold exclusively? That's right...statues. It was an entire store dedicated to selling what looked like plain grey concrete and stone, and potentially other composites of statues of all natures. I don't know. Maybe no big deal, but it just seemed like something I've never seen before.
And lastly, my trek into Spicewood, Texas. I was told by my mom, and then my Aunt Carla that no one had ever made it there without getting lost the 1st time. I cheated and used the navigational system, of course, but I made it! I was the 1st. But, I feel like it's gonna be a Barry Bonds type record, with an asterisk next to my it because I used the nav unit. If it helps my cause at all, I actually used the Verizon VZ navigator to get there instead of the Navigon, which I was having problems with at the time.
But talk about "rural". And I thought Beaver Island, MI was rural. Holy shit. This is about as rustic as it gets. The road I turned down to get here was actually "Rustic Lane", I kid you not. Like I said, I passed 7 deer, turned the car around 180 degrees in short increments 3 times, and drove all the way down to the gate to someone's livestock farm at one point. But I made it! And the Holloway hospitality has been all of what you think when you think of the southern hospitality. I'm so glad to have such good people to stay with, yet again. Thanks y'all! This is where they left me to my druthers tonight:
Anyways, it's just my kind of scene. I really can't wait to see it in the daylight. The entire area sits on a connectivity of lakes and rivers, mostly consistent of Lake Travis and the Colorado river (accurate!) intertwining in an elaborate system of damning and water level control tactics. And here at 4am right now, I just may get a glimpse of some of it.. It's hard to go sleep in a bedroom inside when there is so much fresh air and nature to take in. I've been restricted from the freedom of nature for too long now living in the concrete paradise, some of us call Detroit and home. Don't get me wrong, there are redeeming qualities of all areas, but what's redeeming to me at this point is what's important, (only since I'm the only one awake and blogging) is that I'm completely and wholeheartedly the fact that I am safe from the outside world where I'm at. And I've had to be on guard big time in the last few days with so much of my life riding on four wheels and my best judgement. There was an abundance of stress and long, fatiguing driving. BUT...I'm finishing off the night with one last Budweiser and a listen to Jason Croff's "A cake for a file". See his MySpace for a great listen if you'd like. It was really hard to leave such a talented group of musicians and a great songwriter and great friends. I hope to find it again someday....
And on the topic of music, I'm going to explore the "music capitol of the south tomorrow". I'm hoping for a nice day...oh wait...right. No rain. Remember the bee-girl video by Blind Melon? That was priceless, even still today.
I think I'll like Austin. We'll see. I'll be honest and tell you if I don't, but my magic 8 ball in my head says:
Just kidding. Thanks for reading. I'll get back to you tomorrow with details from the city of Austin and the engagement party!
Peace and love
Chris
You are never at a loss for words, are you? :)
ReplyDelete