2.3.05 - link now fixed (and polite). oooops.

i'm in alhambra. that means i am in california.
it's wierd to drive into your hometown (or homeland?) on the same freeways you used to travel as a child, in a different car, with different things than before, and only as a pitsop on to a different place. me? sentimental? never!
things i am going to do while in the southland...
bodyworlds
retrieve my 3 year old avocado plant from the backyard of the house i grew up in, that was recently sold to someone else (the house, not the plant. the plant was leaft in the back yard because the movers couldn't take it because they couldn't transfer plants across state lines).
maybe secretly visit dot the cat and and family.
eat good food
see parts of my fam
get my car looked at (darn pesky check engine light)
and hope that things don't get stolen from my car.

things i learned from driving from charlotte to here:
driving isn't so bad when you don't do it at night
david sedaris, tom wolfe, & jane austen make wonderful travel mates
blood oranges still taste good
texas is huge
there is continual 'fog' hanging over midland, tx. i'm convinced it's a 'protective measure'
only in texas will you find a subaru outback with connecticut plates and a "w" sticker on the back. (brian posits the sticker was added as 'protection' for the journey through texas...blending in).
300 miles is no big deal
if you drive a full-packed car, people will make conversation/chat with you at every gas station, but will chose from a select list of pre-approved lines:
"wow, looks like you could fit just a bit more in that corner right there."
(said while pointing at the tiny bit of trunk that has space, near the rear window)
"good thing you don't have any passengers" (sorry s.)
"where ya headed?"
"are you plannin' on paddlin' that here? it's too cold/we ain't got no water for that."
and that i love the fact i can fill my tank with about $20 and go twice as far as i could in jeepie.