From Dawn to Dusk... the journal (of the white horse) |
Sunday, July 22, 2001 * Thelma and Louise??? Just back from a short road trip with a friend. We did the "Thelma and Louise" thing. No, we didn't rob a store and go on the run, but we did leave our husbands and take off in her 4runner for a few days of "no care" travel. We don't book accomodations and we don't plan exactly where we're going... only a general vacinity. It works great. Well, most of the time it works great. Occasionally we have bumbled and not had a place to stay until quite late. Once I had to run into a restaurant in Wales after dark and ask the waitresses if there were any accomodations in the vacinity. But whether by truth or by luck, we find most people to be both kind and accomodating... This time we nearly bumbled when we took off one evening for a night ride in a Cypress swamp on an old steamboat. Sounds fun, yes? Well, it actually was - but we had a few moments where we questioned what we were doing. Both of us forgot our cell phones ( I mean you might need a cell phone if the boat stopped dead in the middle of the swamp, right?) Then my friend noticed that we were almost on empty and were in the middle of nowhere - no streetlights, no gas stations... and no time to turn around and find gas back in the town. Luckily for us, we came across an old combination grocery and bait shop that actually had gasoline - and cheap gasoline at that! Luck?... maybe, or someone was looking out for us. The night ride was definitely memorable. It was hot and muggy, and the mosquitoes were out. But it cooled down once we got underway and the Cypress trees with their hanging Moss, water lilies, and giant blue herons flying overhead or perched in the trees made the trip worthwhile. We spent the nights at B&B's where the rooms were cool and comfortable, the people very friendly, and the food superb. We spent the days checking out old antique shops and going through yesteryears' paraphanalia. So many stories to tell... We did find out why the town of Uncertain, Texas is called Uncertain. But we never found out why the elderly man in the Texas cowboy hat and boots stops and kisses the woman (wife?) under the same tree every day in the park beside the old hotel. We discovered a little hole in the wall where the locals eat that makes the best pies! Oh, and I bought an old corner cabinet for my kitchen that came out of a house in Pennsylvannia. It's definitely old and has cobwebs in the bottom, not made of any fine wood - but huge (for a corner cabinet), sturdy, and exactly what I've been looking for. It'll need some work, maybe a little color washing and cleaning up - but I think it's going to be perfect. We took the back roads not the highways and stopped on the way home at a vegetable stand to buy fresh purple hull peas and strawberries - which we're having for dinner tonight. So - better get to that. Hope your weekend was fun! Oh, I took lots of pictures - especially of the swamp - so maybe I'll post some later in the week. Sharon Hartdegen (Rian) |
