After a long morning on the freeway, we're passing the option to take Interstate 49 south to New Orleans. Instead we're seeking Louisiana Highway 1 so that we can see something more than freeways and grass and trees.
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Deflated
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| The hitchhikers look a bit deflated |
We found traveling on a Sunday, the day after the 4th of July, to not be all that exciting. The only establishments we found to be open were chain restaurants and stores that we could visit at home. After skipping out of our hotel before sunrise and failing to find not-a-chain breakfast options, we finally gave into our hunger and grabbed a quick breakfast at a Corner Bakery Cafe in Arlington. The day was quickly turning into a day of driving to get through Texas as quickly as we could.
Driving through Texas often provokes me to wish I had a Holtzman drive to fold Texas out of the way and instantly move from New Mexico to Louisiana. I was hoping that one of our hitchhikers might be a Navigator and be able to help us bypass Texas. Neither of them would admit to having the hardware or intuition to get us to the east side of Texas any faster than our Ford was carrying us. As I questioned our guests and as our time in Texas wore on, they seemed to slowly deflate. Perhaps I should have gotten them some coffee when we stopped.
Given that we could not bend space, we chose to bend the rules of this trip for just this day: we got on Interstate 20 and zoomed through Texas as quickly as we could. Perhaps, some time in the future, we'll return to Texas for the purpose of exploring Texas itself. This time, Texas was mostly in the way.
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| Approaching the Louisiana border |
America's Best Value Inn: Abilene
Cheap, but too pricey for what you get.
Do not stay here.
Dirty.
Bugs.
Broken toilet.
Dirty.
Bugs.
Most uncomfortable bed ever.
Couldn't sleep.
Left before sunrise.
Oh, and several doors down, was a room that burnt a couple months before our visit.
Don't stay here. I wish I hadn't.
I would have been happier sleeping in the car.
Tiny's Burger Barn
We arrived in the tiny town of Tatum, New Mexico, to find half the restaurants in town closed for the Independence Day holiday. Therefore, we turned around and drove the few blocks to Tatum's other restaurant.
We were promptly seated at the only open table. As we ate, we noticed that Tiny's started turning away new arrivals. They were closing early at 2 pm so that they could join their families for the holiday. We were the last ones in and the last ones out.
(We later discovered that closing restaurants on July 4th is more common than I had thought when we were unable to find any not-a-national-chain restaurants open for dinner later in the day.)
We continued east towards Texas; with a goal of Abilene for the night.
Here are some views of rural West Texas...
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| When traveling off the Interstate, slow down entering towns. Bears are hunting. |
We were promptly seated at the only open table. As we ate, we noticed that Tiny's started turning away new arrivals. They were closing early at 2 pm so that they could join their families for the holiday. We were the last ones in and the last ones out.
(We later discovered that closing restaurants on July 4th is more common than I had thought when we were unable to find any not-a-national-chain restaurants open for dinner later in the day.)
We continued east towards Texas; with a goal of Abilene for the night.
Here are some views of rural West Texas...