Things forgotten

(more photos here)

There are lots of little things that I forget to mention as I write these entries, but to me, at least, they seem poignant (or just goofy). So here are a few from the annals of my mind, regarding places and people I saw previously...

On the drive to Tennessee from Kentucky, there was a peacock feather of all things, floating in the middle of the road. On the drive to Houston from New Orleans, there was a huge dead alligator (belly up) on the side of the road. Must have been 8 feet long! Only in Louisiana...

The people in Houston were some of the nicest I've met. Rather than the style of southern hospitality that exists in Louisiana, where people talk your ear off when you ask what time it is (but don't actually answer the question), the people in Houston were genuinely helpful (and then they talked your ear off). One woman on the bus invited me to a children's outdoor fair hosted by one of the oil companies the next day (I said maybe); but then she helped me find my stop and get on the MetroRail, even though it was out of her way. And all I had to do in return was listen when she told me she wanted to be cremated right there in Houston, then have her ashes spread in the bayou, so that hopefully some of them would make it out to the sea. Just a simple request, right?

Another woman, Rosalinda from the Philippines, was the guard in the ceramics room of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. I'm not sure exactly why I struck up a conversation with her in the first place, perhaps I was just ready for some more human interaction after being on my own most of the day. I can't even remember exactly what we talked about, but we probably chatted for a good 15 minutes or so, since there wasn't another soul to be seen in that exhibit. I do remember that she confessed that she didn't like the exhibit that much; she was partial to the medieval paintings.

On the drive from Houston to Austin (oh yeah, I'm in Austin now), up route 71, I felt like I was in classic Texas: ranches all around, longhorn cattle, huge skies, and swarms of bikers (both on hogs and crotch rockets). Oh, and I finally met up with 100°+ temperatures... at 6pm!! Here in Austin last night, I went out to see the Rogue River String Band at Thunderbird Coffee shop (but there was beer there too, go figure). Stephen's (the couchsurfer I stayed with in Houston) brother is one of the members, so in addition to hooking me up with his friends here in Austin to stay with, Stephen provided me with entertainment too! (Thanks Stephen.) They were great, his brother D.W. has an amazing voice. And everyone wore plaid of some sort, but not in a planned sort of way (I hope).

OK, that's enough of my rambling for now... I need to get packed up and on the road! I'm off to Las Cruces, NM, if I can stand the drive in the heat (9 hours, 103° expected). Wish me luck.

(Oh, another thing... I tried alligator meat in New Orleans! I had a bite... well, a tiny morsel of it. According to the bar man, it tastes like chicken.)