Road Trip to Texas

Before I head off to London, I figured a trip to see one of my best friends, Courtney was in order. Courtney's wedding was at the beginning of February and I haven't seen her since. Actually, this has probably been the longest we've gone without seeing one another. Being so far apart from each other has been difficult in some respects, but we've been talking on the phone more than ever. With all of the expenses this summer will bring, I opted for a bus ticket down to Texas. Against my parents' preference, I got a round trip ticket from Dayton to Killeen. I have never been on a Greyhound before and I wasn't sure what I was getting myself in to, but I was excited and ready for whatever adventure the 27 hour bus ride had in store for me.

Luckily I learned what to do (and not to do) very quickly as I traveled. When I first got on the bus (that headed straight to Dallas) I sat by a guy who was my age. A group around him included twenty somethings that were very chatty. They didn't know one another, but it was interesting to see how they were already like a group of friends. It was nice to talk to them and hear about their lives, even though after a while I just wanted to listen to music and look out the window. I began to feel almost embarrassed for having luxuries like a car and a college education. The people I had talked to were my age and they had jobs and children to support. I guess more than anything, their stories made me thankful that I have the opportunities that I do, like traveling abroad for example. I never told anyone I was a first timer on the bus, but I assume this group knew since they gave me helpful pointers at my first stop. One thing I didn't expect was how much the bus stops. Most of the stops were Greyhound stations in other major cities, in which we had to get off of the bus (even in the middle of the night). The cities I can remember stopping in are: Cincinnati, Louisville, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock and finally, Dallas. I felt like I was in Tennessee for an eternity. We had an hour layover there where I began talking to an older woman from Dayton who was also going to Dallas. We talked about our families and our hopefulness for the improvement of Dayton. It surprised me, but she almost exclusively uses Greyhound for travel. She went on about how comfortable and nice her experiences have been. For mostly the rest of the trip I had the two seats for myself. I had a Mexican-American from NYC sit by me for awhile and she was very kind. Then at night I sat by a man who was wearing a Texas tuxedo with a horseshoe mustache, who was very polite and gave me both seats as soon as possible. Since I finally bought an iPod, I had fun finding music to match my experiences - mostly Johny Cash, Bob Dylan, Wilco and Th' Legendary Shack Shakers did the trick. We arrived in Dallas at 6:45am (the time of my next scheduled departure), so I missed my bus to Waco>Killeen. After the mix up and waiting for almost 2 hours, I got rescheduled to go to Austin, where Courtney graciously picked me up.


I was SO happy to be in Texas at last! I missed Courtney so much and it was nice to see the city with her. It's been so beautiful here, until recently - nearly 100 degrees on most days. The sun is closer and the sky feels even more expansive. The medians are full of these incredible wildflowers I've never seen in Ohio. They're all over and I saw purple, white and red wildflowers. I've even seen palm trees!


If anything, this week and a half in Central Texas has been very relaxing. I've spent a lot of time with Courtney and Orry, doing various things. My time here has been spent catching up with them, reminiscing, watching movies, laying in the sun and shopping. We've eaten out at so many fabulous new restaurants. I've had Italian, Mexican, French, Japanese and Korean food - who would have thought I'd get such multi-cultural cuisine? Courtney and Orry also have quite a spread here, even for my Vegetarian needs. They've been great hosts and their couch is so comfortable. Part of the time the idea of my best friend being married and having a completely different life does not surprise me at all. In fact, at times it seems so natural. Other times I still think it's completely weird and I'm just waiting for Ron and Kathy to come in. I know most people don't want to hear "you're just like your mother," but Courtney really is in some respects so much like her mom (which she wouldn't deny). The items in their refrigerator, the decor, the cleanliness, all remind me of being at the Wykoff's house.


I was supposed to be back in Dayton by now, but I'm staying until Saturday. I went to catch the bus at 1am in [scary] downtown Killeen, but when we finally made it through the stormy weather, the station appeared to be closed. Courtney had to be at the hospital since she's getting her gallbladder removed so I could not catch any of the returning buses that would get me back in less than 40 hours. I'm not above riding the bus, but 40 hours is pretty ridiculous. I have my parents to thank for getting me a flight home (Terry came to my rescue in this one). At least now, I can stay here and get caught up with all of my readings in preparation for London. It's also good that Orry and I can be here for Courtney post-op.

It's supposed to be a lot cooler the rest of my stay here. The lightning storms I've experienced are completely different from those in Ohio. The raining and the storms lasted throughout the night and into the next day. The wind blew up to 60mph in some areas and the rain sent an instant flood in the streets. The lightning was the most incredible because it's continuous and completely surrounds you. I've been spoiled with the intense heat here, I'll need to get used to moderate London temperatures soon. Only 5 more days in the States and I couldn't be happier about that!

And on an unrelated note...yay for progress!