I don't know what it is about Texas, but I really enjoy being in this state. Maybe it's because on my last trip, I was in Oklahoma for so long, and disliked it so much by the time I got into Texas, that Texas just seemed like a magical awesome place. But as soon as I drove into the state yesterday, I felt happy. I wasn't even driving through awesome landscapes, or picturesque small towns. Route 80 for most of the time through Texas had a speed limit of 70 mph, and felt an awful lot like an interstate. Maybe it's since the state is so big and unknown and there are so many options of where to go. I could spend a month just driving around Texas. Maybe I just like the cowboy culture. There's so much history regarding cowboys (and girls), from cattle drives to rodeos. Cowboys are so appealing.
Whatever it is, in the end, I've spent too much time in Texas for this particular trip. I laugh at myself to think I was going to make it to San Diego today (Tuesday). Or that I was going to be in Tuscon by Saturday. Ha, Tuscon is at least two days away, and I won't see San Diego until Friday. (But, that's really okay with me. If I had gone all the way across the country in just four days, I don't think I would want to keep driving. This way, even though I've been driving a lot, I've also been getting out and doing things enough as well. Helps to break it up and not make me hate my car.)
Big Dave and I
I pulled into Fort Worth Sunday night, and am now leaving Tuesday morning. I've stayed in two different hotels, tried some delicious local beers (Flying Saucer, I will be coming back to you!), watched a cattle drive, got a sunburn, bought a cowboy hat, sat on a longhorn cattle named Big Dave, became dehydrated in the almost 90° heat, watched the Bruins lose a game then win game 7, and wished that I could stay longer. It's been a good last few days, even though most of the day yesterday I was dealing with an intense headache that would just not go away. It would be a fun town to come back to again when not feeling sick, and even more fun to come with someone else. Riding a mechanical bull just isn't that fun when no one you know is there to watch!