As I write this, it is December 5th, I'm currently sitting in San Antonio, Texas.. Let's rewind!
When we left off I was sitting in Seminole, Texas, just inside the western border, Wera had dropped me off for the night and I was just getting my backpack reorganized, that was Thursday during the day. Well later that evening, Wera said there was a change in plans and she was going to have to head back to Santa Fe on Friday, and that she could still take me to Sweetwater, but it would have to be within the hour. I was pretty bummed about having to leave so soon, I was hoping to see Meagan again and chat with her a bit, she was fun to talk to, and I'm not going to lie, very nice to look at haha. Anyway, I tell Wera that I'm ready whenever she is, my bag is packed and I'm just waiting for some clothes to dry but am ready. She picks me up and we head for Sweetwater, get there about midnight, the day turning to Friday. She leaves for Seminole to pick up her kids, and then to Santa Fe.
Friday, it's overcast with a grey sky, getting darker as I begin to walk, leaving the Country Hearth Inn & Suite, just going East. I get a few miles down the road and it's beginning to rain, decide to start trying to hitchhike. After about a half hour or so, the weather begins to get worst, but someone picks me up. A rather... eccentric older man, Jimmy F, and his little, black Saturn Ion, I want to say. Somehow we manage to fit my pack in the trunk and start driving. He asks how much of Sweetwater I seen, I say not much, so he decides to make a detour back into town and show me around, pointing out historical places and telling me stories about growing up there. Apparently Sweetwater is home to the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. What's a rattlesnake roundup you ask? I have no damn clue, but I have gathered it's a big festival or sorts and the town is packed during it. We wander and wander around town, stopping at a bbq place for lunch before leaving, and damn was it good! Eventually we leave Sweetwater and are on the road, his little car rattling a long the way, with me, thankful for being out the rain. As we go, we make another detour to a little town called Buffalo Gap, which I am pretty thankful for, it was a small town and and had a real secluded feel to it. Ended up talking to locals there, hearing a bit about life there, stuff like that. I took pictures of a few of the little shops and whatnot, it was cool. Alright, so the thing about Jimmy was that he was a pretty interesting guy, talked a lot, about everything.. Maybe a bit paranoid, maybe a little strange, but it kept the trip from Sweetwater to Fort Worth interesting.. Had a lot of theories about things, like mind control and manipulation through tvs, of an entity inside tvs and electronics, fear that something was going to happen in his town, going on about experiments that were happening to people in his town, about people controlling his car through his radio, which he said he pulled out with a pick ax... Yeah, interesting guy, looking back, that was bit of a risk lol.. He also really like Adriana Grande, or whatever her name is? After getting back on track, we headed for Fort Worth, somewhere I didn't expect to be for a few weeks. I crashed there for the night, plans with a friend I was hoping to see never panned out, so I just left the next morning for the train and bus station, seeing what my options were.
Saturday, I got the train station in downtown Fort Worth, around 9am, started formulating a plan. My options were take a bus or train either East or South, Austin or Shreveport... I ended up deciding train, and to head to New Orleans, a ticket only slight more than going to Shreveport. While I waited a few hours, having arrived very early, the train leaving at around 2pm, I hung out in the station, just people watching.. I seen a few backpackers, and they all looked a lot more efficient with their packs compared to me haha. After seeing theirs, I realized how much I need to streamline things, lose a little weight from the bag. After getting on the train, I made a quick video and got comfortable. Ended up having a guy sitting next to me, Andrew, interesting guy, and artist himself and headed to Temple. Told me about time he spent in the pen, the life he's lived, stuff that he's gone through, about his daughters, his artwork, and about his brother, who was about my age and getting ready for his own adventure over seas, traveling through there. I told him about my trip, the reasons I'm doing it, the basic stuff. After he left, I made friends with the people across the isle from me, a couple taking a break from life to go visit family in Corpus Christi, unfortunately their names escape.. They were really cool people though, told them I wouldn't mind running into them again later on in my travels. After they left, the older gentlemen behind my seat asked me about my trip, having caught bits of conversations from when I was talking with Andrew. They went on to recommend places in New Orleans to checkout, and things to keep in mind. As we approached the station, I was fortunate enough to have a friend from Utah in Texas on business, who just happened to get to town on Friday. He picked me up and we went to the hotel he was staying, caught up, had some food, and the knocked out, my train leaving for New Orleans would be an early one, 6:25am..
Sunday morning, December 4th, came too quickly and I found myself trying to catch my train, racing to beat the clock. As we pulled up, we had to wait for a train to go by, only minutes till mine was scheduled to depart. I get into the station and ask where to go, and they inform me of the rather unfortunate news that I train has already departed... That in fact, the train we waited to get past was my train... haha... yeah, rush out the door, early as hell, just to miss my train... Ended up having to purchase another ticket for Tuesday, meaning I'm in San Antonio for a few days, which I honestly have no complaints about, nice to be with a friend, being able to bullshit, hangout, plan my next move when I get to New Orleans. I'm thinking I may hangout in New Orleans for a little while.. but we'll see what it's like. Ended up grabbing a late dinner with Jason, just hanging out and relaxing before I hit the road again.
It's Monday now and I'll go through my pack, do laundry, see what can be left behind to shave a little more weight. Can't believe this time tomorrow, I'll be on a train headed to New Orleans, never been before, hope it goes well.
Later days.
“Everything that keeps me together is falling apart,
I’ve got this thing that I consider my only art of fucking people over
My boss just quit the job says he’s goin’ out to find blind spots and he’ll do it
The 3rd Planet is sure that they’re being watched by an eye in the sky that can’t be stopped
When you get to the promise land your gonna shake that eye’s hand”