Still Driving . . .

Another long day of driving on Friday, but once we crossed the Texas state line, the scenery got better. We were still heading East on Hwy 40, but when we hit Amarillo, we turned South on Hwy 27 and were driving down the center of the Texas Panhandle. Now we were passing farms and cattle ranches, and every so often horses.


When we reached Lubbock we finally got off the boring interstate. We took Hwy 84 which is a smaller road and the scenery improved again. Now there were low rolling hills and bluffs, spotted with oil wells and windmills (think Palm Springs). The wind was really whipping, and the temperature was around 100 degrees! (If you click on the picture below, you can see one of the oil wells).

We have been in Texas a few times now, and are really impressed with this state. It's really, really clean - no graffiti, no litter along the highway, and people are really polite and respectful. It's "yes sir" and "yes ma'am", very refreshing!

From Hwy 84, we took Hwy 20 into Abilene. I can't get anywhere near Texas without stopping there to see my friend Joy and her family. She and I worked together for many years at Cal-Style before it was sold and the new owners shut down our California location and moved the manufacturing to Mexico and the administration to St. Louis, putting us all out of work.

This time Joy wanted us to meet her in-laws, and we had a really nice evening devouring the huge Mexican spread that Joy prepared, and talking and laughing together. Her little guy, Benjamin, is really special to me - he was born with a hole in heart, had to have open heart surgery when he was only a day or so old, and then again a year or so later. He is 7 years old now, doing great, has shot up like a weed since the last time I saw him, and absolutely cute as a bug! He and his mom are totally devoting their lives to raising money for the American Heart Association for the research and cure of heart disease. Before we left, they posed for this picture . . .

Today, Saturday, we woke up to very cloudy skies and much cooler temperatures. As we started driving, it started raining. Perfect - the windshield needed a good washing to get rid of all the bugs! We finished listening to "The Appeal". It's a good story, gives a lot of insight into politics, supreme court justices (at the state level), trials against big corporations, etc., and while it's a fictional story, I'm sure there is a lot of truth behind it. But I have to say, I hated the ending!

We stopped for breakfast at another Cracker Barrel and rented another audio book, "For Laci" by Sharon Rocha. I'm sure you remember Scott Peterson, who murdered his wife, Laci, and her unborn son, Connor. Sharon Rocha is Laci's mother, and not only did she write the book, she also read it for the audio version. We are on the last disc already - it's very emotional and hard to hear, but it's written from Sharon's heart and she brings Laci to life as a real person and not just a victim of a horrendous and senseless crime. And while I have teared up several times, I admire Sharon's strength and determination to help other people who have suffered through such a loss.

We have driven close to 1500 miles so far, but we are nearing the "start" of our vacation. I can't feel like we are on vacation yet, until we can slow down and really start to see and do something other than look at the asphalt!

We drove across Texas on Hwy 20 as far as Dallas,

then headed North on Hwy 75 and across the Red River which is the border between Texas and Oklahoma. Does anyone know where the Red River Valley is? I remember singing that song in elementary school.

We crossed a little portion of Oklahoma back to Hwy 40 to just outside of Fort Smith, Arkansas, where we have stopped for the night. Tomorrow we are heading for Fayetteville to have lunch with my Mom's 94 year old cousin, who I have never met. I'm really looking forward to finally getting to meet him.

And since it is now 12:30 AM Arkansas time, I better be getting some shut-eye. Good night for now. . .