Texas Journal: Day Two

Day Two - Wednesday

It's hard to get used to a new time zone. We woke very early after a good night's sleep, made some coffee, and played with the cats, Sophie and Calypso. (So far my allergies don't seem to be acting up...maybe I'm not allergic anymore!)Sophie, the tiger striped one, loves attention and will jump on your lap every time you sit down. Calypso is a little more cautious.

Grace showed us the path to WalMart. (pretty convenient having it in their backyard!) There were some interesting rocks. They looked like they had melted and hardened. We bought some toiletries, and I found some good deals on some things I wanted to buy for Christmas gifts...but it didn't make sense to buy it here, when we have WalMarts at home.

Back at the apartment, we planned our day. Our first stop in Austin was the 1/2 Price bookstore. I spent more time outside on the sidewalk looking through the clearance carts -and found some nice books for only $1 each!

Then we scooted over to Hobby Lobby. I love that place! It's much like our Christmas Tree Shops in Maine, only they more decorative things, and they also have lots of crafts supplies. Grace and Matt surprised us each with a gift card. It was hard to know how to spend mine. (Sorry, not telling what I bought - Christmas secrets!) I pleased to hear hymns playing while I was shopping. Grace told us that it was owned by a Christian -not opened on Sundays. Great!

We zig-zagged up and down looking for a car rental place -which was out of available cars once we found it. Oh well!

For lunch, we ate at Rudy's BBQ. What an experience. It looks like a ranch barn. The host led a "cheer" for us because we were first-time customers. We got to sample different meats. We got the juiciest (full of fat, but delicious) kind. He put the sliced meat on some paper in the bottom of a crate, along with some bread and our foam container of creamed corn (mmmmm...)and some sliced bread. Our plates were more pieces of paper. We sat at one of the red-checkered tables. Great food and an interesting atmosphere!

Randy wanted to go to Galveston sometime on this trip, so we decided to go down that night and stay at a motel. Matt would stay at the apartment to welcome his parents coming to visit the next day. Grace would come with us and drive her little blue KIA. I didn't mind sitting in the back seat. (I had some hand work to finish while I watched the scenery buzz by.)

I'm interested in vegetation. Texas plants all seem sharp and thorny to me. Although, sometimes I saw some tall and tasseled grasses that were pretty. I enjoyed the little towns with the square-fronted buildings that look like the old wild West of the movies. I saw lots of cattle. They don't look like our Holstein and Belted Galloway cows of Maine.

After suppper at Applebees', it was dark, and everything took on a completely different feel. You could see lights from miles away. The highway went straight through Houston. The skyscrapers were beautifully lit for Christmas. A half hour later, I saw a sign for NASA. We were still in Houston! I thought Austin was big.

The vastness of these cities make me think of all the people that live in them -so many people with their own lives, going to school and work, having family, living and dying. Do they know God? -not just going to one of the mega-churches around, but do they really know Him?

It was hard to see what Galveston looked like in the dark. We could see the white caps of the waves rolling on the beach. I'll have to give you a better report of it tomorrow.