New Years 2009 in Texas

You may laugh when you hear the overused phrase 'Everything is bigger in Texas', but during our journey through the state, I honestly couldn't find anything to disprove this statement. The city skylines are panoramic, the sunsets are expansive, the 4x4 trucks are huge, the meals are too much to finish, and the countryside is never-ending! Most often, there was a whole lot of nothing, but no matter how much driving we did, it seemed as if we just couldn't get out of Texas. 'Texas' is also my favorite nickname for Bill. I gave him that one after he returned from his 'move' to the Lone Star state--which lasted a total of 5 days. (I still take full blame and responsibility for that one!)

We started in the northeastern corner of the state, in Texarkana. Houston, also located in northeast Texas, was the next big city Bill and I drove through on our way to Austin, which is nearly the center of Texas. Bill's friend Aaron and his girlfriend, Jess, let us stay with them in Pfluggerville (just outside of Austin) for a few nights. We were lucky enough to sleep in the same room as Aaron's collection of fuzzy and not-so-fuzzy pets...tarantulas, snakes, and lizards. Good thing neither of us have fears of 'slimeys' and 'crawleys'! We did have to put the crickets in the closet for a couple nights, though. That way we could save the sound effects for the real camping.

On the first day we arrived, we picked up another friend of Bill's and Aaron's from the San Antonio airport, Smash, in town from Atlanta, GA. Strange as it seemed to me, this was the first time Bill had met Smash, though he has known him for years. (Computers are amazing things, aren't they?)

We were all invited to Aaron's brother and sister-in-law's home about 10 minutes away for New Years Eve 2008-2009 festivities. They were such a kind and welcoming family! We were all treated to a fresh, home-cooked, authentic Mexican meal including steak fajitas, rice and spicy grilled sausages. The homemade tortillas were excellent, freshly rolled out and fried to order! (Smash, unknowingly, tried a raw dough ball, which we all had a little laugh over! Honestly, had I not seen one made beforehand, I may have done the same myself!)

We played horseshoes in the backyard while we still had light from the sun and the beer flowed a-plenty. Shortly afterward, we relocated to the garage, one half decorated with orange Texas Longhorns paraphernalia and the other in maize and blue for the Michigan Wolverines. (Aaron and his brother both originated from Michigan.) Home is never too far away! In the center of the garage stood a ping pong table (another comfortable reminder of home). We played back and forth for hours, then switched to beer pong. I had volunteered as the designated driver, so denied myself participation in the final events, but we all had lots of fun.
No rush to be anywhere, Bill and I relaxed and enjoyed the warm weather for the next couple days. We wandered the main strip of 6th Street in downtown Austin on New Years Day. Austin is a big music city, and I'm sure there would have been plenty to see and do, but my foot is still mending from the break and the surgeries, so we took it easy. The next afternoon, we packed our car top carrier, restocked the cooler, and got back on the road...heading west again.