Episode Two - The morning as it looks from the window of an all-indoor hotel.

(Buying Inny, Kmart, Icky Fruit, and the Big Texan Steak Ranch)

Our first night was a bad night - Elise fell asleep crying for Daddy - just about broke my heart to have to tell her we were too far away to sleep with Daddy. I slept well, I suppose, for being in a strange bed, and I woke up to take a look outside. The whole time we were there, I kept looking out that window expecting to see the outside world, and I was shocked and amazed each time I didn't.

Here's the weird thing about our hotel (Airport Ritz). It had this huge, roofed-over space, so that our room did not look out onto the world, but onto the giant atrium, which had a canned, musty smell (and a feel, for that matter). It was nice, if a little weird because I'm from California where the weather NEVER gets bad enough to need to roof over stuff like that. Not too hot, not too cold, not too tornado-y... The pool was just about under our window, and when Elise woke up to go take a look outside the window, her first words were, "Mommy, the indoor pool, that pool water looks like jello..." Which made me a bit worried. A few moments further reflection produced this insight from her: "That looks kind of foggy. It's a foggy inside pool".

Okay. Anyway. I called Mr. George Jennings of Bobby Duby Motors, who had offered to come pick us up at the hotel that morning. He concluded other business and came to pick us up in the truck.

Excuse me. That requires capital letters. The Truck.

Because it took some seeing to believe, and I mean that in a good way. Everything I had wanted, or imagined I wanted, had just pulled up. It's in immaculate shape, inside and out, but for a few minor dents, which I didn't have trouble with in a '97. It's not raised, not like the monster trucks, but it's sure tall and Elise thought that was really cool. Well, so did I, but she's a little kid, she gets to go "ooh" and "aahh" and not sound silly.

I'm going to have a lot more to say about the truck later, so I'll save time now and continue on. George informed me that what I had thought were work boxes in the back behind the cab was actually a third tank with its own pump. That makes for a total of three tanks - again, a really cool thing that I'll explain later.

This seems like a good place here to talk for a moment about the people in Texas. Californians might not believe me when I say this, but Texans, for the large part, are really nice people. They aren't in a hurry - the highway has a posted speed limit of 60 miles an hour through town, but - GET THIS - there an actual sign that says "minimum speed 45"! Great ghost of Anne Richards!

At home in the Silicon Valley - and we all know that our place to live is better than anybody else's place to live, right? - back home, people just about climb over the top of your car to get around you. The whole reason Elise and I are out here in the wilds of the Texas Panhandle is that some complete and utter YOIK just had to pass everybody else. Out here I have not been passed ONCE, and I have not exactly been Ms. Dale-ette Freakin' Earnhardt in my new and unfamiliar truck. At home, people have this "how dare you interrupt my flight path" mentality, but in Texas, people (usually in other trucks, which might explain it) just sidle up behind you and moderate their speed to follow you off the freeway like decent, normal folks.

Quick aside here - I now know why I could only find my perfect F250 Crewcab Diesel 4X4 here in Texas - it's because everybody out here drives trucks, and quess what? Not a few of them have legitimate mud all over them from driving on actual dirt roads where they might conceivably have a need for their 4-wheel-drive, unlike the Silicon Valley, where, as we know, everybody has to have 4-wheel-drive, even the freakin' Lexi and the Beemers and the Mercedes SUV's, even though there are no dirt roads for a couple hundred miles in every directions. I always look at those people and think "there's an idiot who bought the commercial along with the car"...

I swear, I have actually needed my 4-wheel-drive a couple of times, and I HAVE used it!

The other astounding cultural difference? People here are actually as nice as you think they should be. The guys at the car dealership were every bit as honest as yoiu really wish your car dealer would be. (Note - several days later, at home now, and I can really say that's true - the truck performed above and beyond the call of duty). The waiters walk past your table, analyze your drink condition, and in a few seconds they're reaching past you to put a new glass on the table, causing you to jump out of your seat because you never saw it coming. Here's the sweet bit: THEY DON'TTAKE AWAY YOUR OLD DRINK JUST YET. They actualy leave it for you to finish, and then when you start on the new glass, the old glass just magically disappears.

Wowzers.

I struck up conversations with at least three people today, and they were all good, twoi-sided, satisfying types of conversations.

Well, okay, enough. You get the picture.

I had planned on taking Elise to the American Quarter Horse Museum later in the day, but we got done with the truck stuff and lunch too late. We'll stop in there on our way out of town tomorrow.

Tomorrow, the Big Texan Steak Ranch!!!