Four days to Texas (and back)

Alright, so there we were with our asses dragging from Comicon Thursday evening. So what do we do? We leave for Austin, Texas. Yep. Me lovely wife Leslie's sister Sharon was graduating the Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts school.

Crazy you say? Hell yes.

Anyhow, we got moving along and in a short period we hit Yuma, Arizona. Well, Leslie was tired and so she asked if we could stay the night there and rest. I personally would have rather pushed on through, but acquiesced to her request. We grabbed a room and passed out. We awoke the next morning refreshed and raring to go.

I am not going to go into detail about the drive for fear it might overexcite the average reader. 20 something hours on the road and all that heavy activity is not for the feint of heart. We did, however, drop by and see "The Thing." "The Thing" is one of them roadside attractions. We went in to the DQ, partook of the facilities and then paid our buck a piece and walked through one large warehouse full of antiquities of various sorts, a full size, hand carved replica of a torture chamber (odd), and a grip of driftwood with painted on eyes and mouths (odder).

Finally, we walked down another outside path to another large warehouse barn thing to where "The Thing" was. As we approached with trepidation, we eagerly anticipated what "The Thing" could be. Could it be an alien? Could it be Kryptonite? Could it be my mother-in-law? But, lo and behold it was a mummy with a baby mummy. So, perhaps it was a mommy mummy, though there were no tell-tale signs of breasticles.  All in all, well worth the buck each we paid for the little trip.  It must be noted that the mummy itself was far less creepy than the driftwood creatures adorning the warehouses.

It must also be noted that the folks that worked at "The Thing" Dairy Queen were very polite and friendly. In fact, the manager of the DQ part told us he would make us the best breakfast we would ever have from a fast food restaurant. And you know what? It t'weren't bad.

We finally rolled into Austin after about 5 bajillion hours on the road. We got to our hotel around and hour and 15 minutes before the graduation ceremony. We showered, dressed and headed out and arrived just in time for the commencement. It was a nice ceremony though the key speaker was very long winded.

After the graduation, we all (Sharon, Dillon[Sharon's boyfriend], Jill [Leslie and Sharon's mom], Leslie and I went to get some lunch at a French buffet sort of place called Le Madeline or somesuch. Food wasn't too bad and it was nice to enjoy Sharon's moment.

We are very proud of her. And, Sharon, if you are reading this, where the hell are my cookies, cakes, pies, and other lard enriched goodness?

Anyhow, Leslie and I went back to our room and finally got a good full 3 hours of sleep. We then went to dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse. Man, I can still taste that porterhouse smothered in garlic butter and the asparagus and mashed potatoes with the garlic and such.
After a full day of eating and a full night of sleeping we got up and had breakfast with the whole gang at one of my favorite restaurants when we travel, The Cracker Barrel. We chowed down and then hit the road. Off we went. It is Sunday around 1 p.m.ish for those keeping score and witnessing our insanity.

Texas rest stops are not to be missed. They are clean and have WiFi. I think we may have interrupted a homosexual encounter as well, which is always entertaining in the middle of the night at a strange rest stop in the middle of nowhere. I must say that I was not a participant, merely a casual observer, just to set minds at ease.

We drove and drove and drove and drove and drove to the 46 power. Mostly the trip was uneventful save for the exit of Arizona to California when we were hit by a dust storm which then became a monsoon. The temperature went from 104 and muggy to 86 and chilly. The traffic slowed down and vision became obscured. It was wild. After about ten minutes it all disappeared and the temp rose back up to 104.

We made it home around 7 p.m. nice and worn out.

Yes, it was insane and we are still feeling the effects, but I gotta tell you, we were thrilled to be there for Sharon. Once again, Sharon, if you are reading this, kick over the goods babe. I am losing weight here.

Don't forget to check out the photo album of our trip to Texas.

Up next The Pirate Party

Comments

[JenniaHart]

If Leslie was driving how come she looks so perky in the picture and you look so tired???

I do like the cowboy hat.