11 hours in Austin

My husband is a superstar in so many ways…but today, he shined brighter than most. He drove all but about 1 hour of our 15 hour trek to Austin, Texas where we have just arrived. By the way though I am posting this in the morning, this was written as my husband washes his weary body in the amazing bathroom in our hotel, the InterContinental. As I just said, we have just arrived, and it is nearly 1am – though we lost 2 hours on the road…and now are in the same time zone as we will be until August.
The drive today was pretty uneventful having woken up at 6 am and have spent the past 15 hours on the road. Thank you GOD for getting us to Austin, where the bed looks like heaven on earth! We spent most the time listening to books on tape as Andrew drove and I took an occasional video or photo. In El Paso, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch – which my friend Sandra says is like Ihop but so much better! And it really is...We learned from last night that our best option is to share – since we can’t take it on the road as a leftover and having seen even the largest guy carry out leftovers, perhaps this was the right option for us. We ordered a salad, side of mac’n’cheese and Chicken Dumplings. I swear, we never eat like this and I think my stomachache is the sign that my body is seriously unhappy from today’s very healthy meal!
I didn’t realize that El Paso and Mexico share a border and I was telling Andrew that I never realize that slums existed here – really, truly it really was quite a sight. Houses on a hill but all looking in great need of serious work. Later, I realized that we had seen Mexico!
The other only exciting thing was that Andrew nearly (and I say nearly) got a ticket from the Texas cop….
So, I was handing Andrew a jellybean to munch on for energy when all of a sudden Andrew let out an “Uh-oh” . Here’s what happened…
Charlotte – How fast were you going?
Andrew – about 90, I was distracted, oh man!
Cop (thick Texas accent) – Hello Ma'am, hello Sir. I just clocked you going 90mph. Can I see your license and registration?
(I hand it over)
Cop – Where are y’all going?
Andrew and Charlotte – Austin
Cop – well, I’ll be right back. I’m taking your license.
Andrew and I chat about how this is holding us up…my husband is amazingly calm.
Cop returns – Well, I don’t normally doing it because 90 is way, way too fast (the speed limit btw is 80) but I’m going to let you go with a warning…slow down.
Andrew and Charlotte – Thank you!
How lucky, how lucky….it is now nearly noon in Austin…I wrote the top part earlier this morning, literally when it was dark. We’re about to head off to New Orleans…another 8 hours on the road. Andrew is beside me, checking his email and he’s hurrying me…
See ya’ll in New Orleans!