I'm big in Texas

My baby is sick. She has done so well but then her power steering stopped working in Tennessee. I was able to continue my driving without having a problem while on straight highways but getting around the small towns has had me working up a sweat. Driving has become a work-out.

It ends up this hiccup in the car's ability to turn is not my fault. Really. My power steering ends up being electric which, according to my mechanical understanding, means that instead of hardworking gears and pumps and tubes doing the communicating between my steering wheel and my tires, a lazy computer is telling a lazy computer who is telling a lazy computer how to turn my wheels. One of these lazy computers stopped doing its job, hence the whole system shutting down. This can be blamed on Chevrolet's manufacturing, I swear. Its not my fault. My baby is at the GM dealer right now in Kerrville, Texas having a new steering column installed, courtesy of Chevy. (Major props to Tim C. for realizing that there was a warranty from Chevy for this and saving me $600 on repairs. I owe you big time, T.C., although not $600-big-time, just a hug-and-a-thank-you-big-time. I'm on a budget.)

Aaaaah, Kerrville, Texas. I walked three miles to get into town yesterday and passed two McDonalds, two Dairy Queens, a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. Its that kind of town. I haven't had a serving of vegetables in three days. I'm sure I could dig some up if I put some effort into it but I've decided I'd indulge in a Texas diet and gain a few pounds and then adopt a Portland diet of organic foods and outdoor exercise to lose those pounds. I'll let you know how it goes.

Another downfall of being stranded without my car: I've run out of clean clothes. Yesterday I visited the gas station next door and bought a t-shirt for today:

Its a kid's size medium. I had a choice between that and an adult XL. In case you can't read mirror-image scroll font, it says "I'm big in Texas." Which for a kid I understand this to be a good thing. Unfortunately for me, this statement has some truth because of the 5 pounds I've added from a diet of barbeque sauce and Tex-mex food.

Quick word about Austin: it rocks. The food is amazing, everyone is hip, and there is live music everywhere. Luke and I stayed on South Congress street to be in the middle of everything. We didn't get to document too much with pictures but we did need to get pictures of ourselves with the Austin Motel sign:

Notice we got pictures of ourselves separately being that we were both concerned about looking like tourists. Just imagine us in the shot together.

Burn out in Memphis

I've hit burn-out. It happened in Memphis. I was in a hotel room trying to fall asleep and was aware that I could hear the people in the room next to me roll over in their bed. If they coughed, it sounded like they were in the room with me. I realized that I was done with sleeping in a different bed every night. I want my bed. Currently my bed is in storage, but I'll settle for a bed that I get and put in an apartment that is mine and that I get to sleep in every night. If I must listen to my neighbors, at least it will be the same neighbors every night.

So my plans of doing a "quick" loop around the southeast has been scrapped. I am currently resting luxuriously in Springfield, Missouri with my aunt and uncle. I am falling in love with their dogs. I'm pestering my Aunt Kathy with a million questions about life trying to learn from her experiences. She has turned out to be excellent guidance. I hope to make progress on my resume and job search but the outlook is iffy. If I know me, I'll put it off until the last minute.

From here, I head to Austin, Texas for a four day vacation with a friend. From there, I'll high-tail back to Portland via the southwest and the California coast. I won't be taking my chances with the Rockies so I'll just have to see the west coast again. Oh, the sacrifices I make for safety.

Outside of Salida, Colorado:

Across Oklahoma:

The view from my Memphis hotel room:

Excuses

If I told you that my computer broke and had to be sent away to be fixed, would that be a sufficient excuse for not posting for over three weeks? What about if I blamed it on the holidays? There are people that believe there should be no excuses in life -- I am not one of those people. I could fill this post with excuses. But lets just put this whole haven't-updated-the-blog-in-three-weeks thing behind us. Deal? Deal.

Today finds me in Denver. I've been here since the 31st. I last posted when I was spewing profanities and cursing babies in Flagstaff, reeling from altitude sickness and lady rage. You'll be relieved to know I calmed down after a few days, although not before I attempted to find the Grand Canyon. You'd think that it being "Grand" and all would make it fairly trackable but that was not the case. I could find it on a map. I found ample signs and directions from Flagstaff. From the entrance to the National Park, I found the Visitor's Center without a hitch. And then the trail stopped there. I was in a maze of parking lots and construction areas. There were lots of signs about where to hike or bike or bird-watch or what-have-you but no simple sign saying "Viewpoint That Way." To be honest, all I wanted to do was see the darn thing, snap a picture of myself in front of it and then be able to say that I saw it. I ended up going in circles, fuming and rehearsing the lecture that I was going to give the forest rangers/park volunteers on their incompetency in making my visit easy. I finally teamed up with other frustrated tourists and we followed clues until we got to the viewpoint. Then, there were just too many people there. Didn't they know I wanted some alone time with nature? I resented them all and headed back to Flagstaff. Thats what happens when I try to sight-see while incredibly cranky.

From Flagstaff I hit up Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was one of my most anticipated drives but, unfortunately, I picked one of the cloudy and rainy days in the Southwest. By the time I got to Santa Fe, it had turned to snow. The drive in was sketchy but the final product of Santa Fe in the snow was worth it. The first night there I walked to a cafe (I love walking in the snow) and got turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy (I love comfort food), read a good book while The Beatles played on the overhead stereo (I love The Beatles) and life could not have gotten much better. I realize this experience is not unique to New Mexico but a standard formula for a good time is appreciated anywhere.

Santa Fe comes highly recommended. The people are nice, the feel is laid back, and the food is fantastic. I tried to get a picture of Old Town to get the overall aesthetic, although the pics came out a bit rushed:

From Santa Fe I headed to Denver, caught a plane, headed to Pittsburgh for a few days, and then flew back. Christmas was a time of family, food, and sloth. I had daily naps and lots of reading.

The only definite plans in the next two weeks is to head to Austin to meet-up with a friend and take in the sights and sounds. And then I think my trip will be coming to an end. Its time for me to get a job. Portland is my final destination where I'll jump into the adult-like activities of looking for an apartment and a job and becoming an asset to my community (something like that.) I can say with certainty that I'm not looking forward to the work but am incredibly psyched to live the Portland experience. I'll keep you updated (with posts more frequent than three weeks.)