Next scheduled stop is always in Decatur, TX, just outside of Ft. Worth, at a Shell station. I walk and water the girls in the hot, dry air for five minutes while Mr. B fuels up the car in the shade. Pit stops and diet cokes for the humans, and we're on the road again.
Next stop, not always scheduled, is for a change of drivers. Yesterday it was in Chillicohthe, TX, at the Sonic. I got a diet cherry limeade and watched Mr. B eat a chocolate sundae with whip cream, hold the cherry. Hold the cherry? He's really serious about losing weight! I'm behind the wheel and the speed control is set.
Next (unscheduled) stop was in Quantum, TX, just for me, at a roadside park. Thank goodness I was driving. Mr. B would NOT have stopped just because I couldn't hold the beverages I'd drunk since the stop in Decatur. So in the middle of nowhere, with official yellow signs everywhere warning to beware of rattlesnakes, I bravely make the three-minute walk/run inside to the restrooms. I'm clapping the entire way, thinking that will scare off the snakes that are lurking, just waiting for a strike at my pearly white flesh. Hey, if mosquitos can't resist me, how can snakes? This is the cleanest roadside park I've ever been in. It has air conditioning and resembles what I expect an old train station would look like. Cute! Inside the stall, I wonder if a snake could rise up through the water to bite my meaty buttock? Remember, I don't have experience in roadside parks. Finished, I make the three-minute walk/run back to the car – clapping and humming this time. Inside the car, door closed, safe from a close encounter with snakes, I'm sweating. Was it because I was nervous about snakes or because it was HOT outside? See the photo I took of the car thermometer showing the exterior temperature. WOW!Bladder empty, sandwich brought from home eaten, bottle of water between my thighs, and my two hands on the steering wheel, we're back on the Highway 287 heading for the next scheduled stop.
In Amarillo at the Valero station, the temperature has fallen to 99 degrees. Although it's hot in Amarillo, there is always a strong wind. Leashed, the girls enjoy the last grass they'll experience until we get back to Houston. After the dogs' five-minute walk and potty break, Mr. B offers me the last piece of leftover pizza we packed in the cooler. Eating a cold piece of pizza in the Valero parking lot. Nothing but the best when you travel with Mr. B.
Behind the wheel again, this time with an energy drink in hand, we get on Interstate 40 and head for the New Mexico border. I'm always excited to enter the "Land of Enchantment." The roads are rougher, but the speed limit is higher. Only three hours left until we reach Santa Fe.
Around 8 p.m. Mountain Time, Mr. B pushes open the gate and I pull in the drive at Pettita Casita. Not lickety split (for those of you familiar with that expression), but home again. There's just enough light for us to take a quick walk around the garden to see what's new. After unloading the car, I walked around the house opening windows and filling the fridge with water while Mr. B gathered dinner from Il Vicino. In a city known for its Mexican food, he likes Italian food from Il Vicino.
Today I'm creating a extra long blog. Since I didn't write one yesterday, I decided to write a long blog today. Next I'm creating a grocery list and heading to the Trader Joe's and then Albertson's. The weatherman in ABQ (no television station in Santa Fe) said the high is supposed to be 88 degrees today and the low tonight is 59 degrees. It's overcast and threatening to rain, so I doubt it will get to 88 degrees. If it does rain, dinner will have to be inside tonight instead of under the apricot tree. But I have lots more nights in Santa Fe until I go back to Houston.
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