Crossed the finish line!
The odyssey continues. We left our hotel in Little Rock (after complaining to the front desk 
about the noise from the basketball hooligans) and headed for the River Market, which we had seen on the way in the night before. We missed the farmers market (Fridays only), but we still got to look around and had some tasty coffee and breakfast. From there, we headed for the Clinton Library & Museum. I was already having second-thoughts about going into the library, if only because of the time it would take to see everything properly vs. the number of miles still to go on our way to Austin. In the end, we took pictures of the building and then went straight to the gift shop. I got a cute magnet that says "I miss Bill" :)
Following the signs south toward Texarkana, we headed out.
We passed Hope, with its big sign for "Birthplace of President Clinton" but it just didn't seem like we needed to stop. Again, the road was 2 lanes in each direction, trees on either side, and blue sky above... Just us and the 18-wheelers. It's amazing how monotonous that can get!
We crossed into Texas at Texarkana, at 1:50pm, and had to pull over to take a pic of the sign (also on M's camera, not mine). This time there was a lot more traffic, but there was a Texas Welcome Center 50 feet ahead, so we just coasted into their parking lot. I picked up a bunch of brochures and maps, including one of Dallas, since we were going to go through there next. We got out the Frommer's Texas guidebook (thank you, Ann & Glenn) and the "Texas Curiosities" book (thank you Sally) that I was given on Saturday. Unfortunately, most of the oddities were a bit too far off the beaten path -- or were just too odd! Although at some point I think I will have to go see "Stonehenge II" in Hunt, TX. (about 2 1/2 hours away)
By 4pm, we had made it to Dallas. Since I was now navigating, I managed to steer us
over to Dealey Plaza, so at least I could take a picture of the Book Depository (unfortunately, there was a bus in the way, and the guy behind us was honking!). Apparently there's a Sixth Floor museum there, with the area around Oswald's window perfectly recreated. I have no doubt that I will be back in Dallas at some point, so I'll go there and check it out. We were surprised that there weren't many people on the street (well, some of them were at work, I'm sure), and didn't really find a downtown area to walk around in. So, we stayed in the car and kept going! Plus, the temperature reading in my car was consistently in the 3-digit range.
We pushed on down highway 35, and let me tell you, when they talk about the "homogenization" of America, it's never more apparent than when you go from town to town to town, and each one has a McDonald's, BK, Wendy's, Cracker Barrel... and Wal-Mart. Any time there was a clearing and we started to see a group of buildings that looked like "civilization", the biggest building of all was a Wal-Mart. Amazing. and sad.
Just after 7pm, we shifted into the northern suburbs of Austin. I started to get really excited. After a slight detour through the UT campus (I got off at the wrong exit -- I've never come in from the north before!) -- we made it to Randall's house/my temporary abode. The previous visitors had left the A/C at a tolerable level (~80) so it wasn't too bad. I am astonished at all the stuff that M had crammed into the car! Seeing it piled up in the living room was a bit of a shock! It also occurs to me (in hindsight) that I didn't really need to bring as much clothing as I did... I could have put more stuff in storage. But that's ok. I'll use the big suitcase as "storage" for the time being.
We put 1,552 miles on the car. [there, that's better.]
We unpacked, I put some stuff away, and we rested for a bit before venturing out to get some dinner. (We've been eating at odd hours, I'm going to have to fix that next week!) At this point, my adrenaline had finally subsided and the exhaustion was setting in. I know mom called at some point around 9-ish, but I barely remember what I said to her. It's starting to sink in that I live here now. hmm... and let me tell you, I slept like a dead person in the big comfy bed!
about the noise from the basketball hooligans) and headed for the River Market, which we had seen on the way in the night before. We missed the farmers market (Fridays only), but we still got to look around and had some tasty coffee and breakfast. From there, we headed for the Clinton Library & Museum. I was already having second-thoughts about going into the library, if only because of the time it would take to see everything properly vs. the number of miles still to go on our way to Austin. In the end, we took pictures of the building and then went straight to the gift shop. I got a cute magnet that says "I miss Bill" :)Following the signs south toward Texarkana, we headed out.
We passed Hope, with its big sign for "Birthplace of President Clinton" but it just didn't seem like we needed to stop. Again, the road was 2 lanes in each direction, trees on either side, and blue sky above... Just us and the 18-wheelers. It's amazing how monotonous that can get!We crossed into Texas at Texarkana, at 1:50pm, and had to pull over to take a pic of the sign (also on M's camera, not mine). This time there was a lot more traffic, but there was a Texas Welcome Center 50 feet ahead, so we just coasted into their parking lot. I picked up a bunch of brochures and maps, including one of Dallas, since we were going to go through there next. We got out the Frommer's Texas guidebook (thank you, Ann & Glenn) and the "Texas Curiosities" book (thank you Sally) that I was given on Saturday. Unfortunately, most of the oddities were a bit too far off the beaten path -- or were just too odd! Although at some point I think I will have to go see "Stonehenge II" in Hunt, TX. (about 2 1/2 hours away)
By 4pm, we had made it to Dallas. Since I was now navigating, I managed to steer us
over to Dealey Plaza, so at least I could take a picture of the Book Depository (unfortunately, there was a bus in the way, and the guy behind us was honking!). Apparently there's a Sixth Floor museum there, with the area around Oswald's window perfectly recreated. I have no doubt that I will be back in Dallas at some point, so I'll go there and check it out. We were surprised that there weren't many people on the street (well, some of them were at work, I'm sure), and didn't really find a downtown area to walk around in. So, we stayed in the car and kept going! Plus, the temperature reading in my car was consistently in the 3-digit range.We pushed on down highway 35, and let me tell you, when they talk about the "homogenization" of America, it's never more apparent than when you go from town to town to town, and each one has a McDonald's, BK, Wendy's, Cracker Barrel... and Wal-Mart. Any time there was a clearing and we started to see a group of buildings that looked like "civilization", the biggest building of all was a Wal-Mart. Amazing. and sad.
Just after 7pm, we shifted into the northern suburbs of Austin. I started to get really excited. After a slight detour through the UT campus (I got off at the wrong exit -- I've never come in from the north before!) -- we made it to Randall's house/my temporary abode. The previous visitors had left the A/C at a tolerable level (~80) so it wasn't too bad. I am astonished at all the stuff that M had crammed into the car! Seeing it piled up in the living room was a bit of a shock! It also occurs to me (in hindsight) that I didn't really need to bring as much clothing as I did... I could have put more stuff in storage. But that's ok. I'll use the big suitcase as "storage" for the time being.
We put 1,552 miles on the car. [there, that's better.]
We unpacked, I put some stuff away, and we rested for a bit before venturing out to get some dinner. (We've been eating at odd hours, I'm going to have to fix that next week!) At this point, my adrenaline had finally subsided and the exhaustion was setting in. I know mom called at some point around 9-ish, but I barely remember what I said to her. It's starting to sink in that I live here now. hmm... and let me tell you, I slept like a dead person in the big comfy bed!
Comments
Did you drive to Texas via...well, circumnavigating the globe?