H-88 Van Horn L H 69 L 60 RAIN H H 66 L 56 M H 81 L 65 RAIN
L-69 C H 96 L 74
Bear update: The Bear says we will have a Fatty Cheated At Witticisms Party. TR says, “I’m the wittiest leader since General Bearus.” Moose say, “You’re not very witty at all, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Witty Party. We will serve Witty Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? It lasted, and the temperature in Van Horn climbed to 88. Lightning was flashing in the distance as it got dark in Van Horn.
Tucson 93/71 Brooklyn 85/71
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and ate breakfast in the lobby. At least the OJ was drinkable today. We checked out of room 113 at 10:24AM. We stopped at exit 40 at Country Club Drive at the Stripes Store where we ate lunch on June 18 when we drove from Van Horn to Midland. We got gas, and I tried to use the ATM. The ATM didn’t work. The 2nd pit stop was at a picnic area at exit 25. There were no bathrooms, but we used it as a dog stop. That was the last stop on I-20. We joined I-10 for the first time since June 18. The West Texas Mountains reappeared. The 3rd pit stop was at exit 181, the Chevron Food Mart. We took out sandwiches and Pepsis. We fed the dog a sandwich. I took a movie of a train down below. The 4th pit stop was at exit 159, the Plateau Truck Stop. They had a sign on the door. They were closed. They didn’t have power. The 5th pit stop was at a rest area right before Van Horn. The next rest area was supposed to be in 96 miles. The 6th pit stop was at exit 140B Loves. We finally got an ATM to work. I got money. We proceeded down the main street of Van Horn. We took a look at the Knight’s Inn where Gary had reservations and progressed to McDonalds. We got dipped cones. We checked into room 45 at the America’s Best Value Inn instead. I told them the last time nobody showed up for breakfast. They didn’t know what happened that time. Gary spent the afternoon doing laundry and calling attorneys. Kenny was translating. I was doing what I’m doing now. We waited until 6 to go to dinner at the Van Horn Cattle Company where we last celebrated Father’s Day on June 17. There was a door leading directly to the closed pool. The restaurant must have once been part of the motel. We then took the dog and cat for a walk behind the motel. We had trouble getting the keys to work.
YA Supernatural idea: What do I make of the CLOSED POOL? It was neat when we were arriving this afternoon. Gary said he thought he saw somebody in the pool. But nobody was there. You could have a heroine visiting here. She stays in room 45. She sees somebody in the pool who is calling for help. She hurries across the parking lot. A boy steps out of the bushes and stops her. Really it goes back to a murder that took place there back in t he 60’s or 50’s when Van Horn could have made it big. The daughter of an executive came to town. Two boys fell in love with her. One chased her in a car through the streets. She got killed. The town never got the deal and contracted. The motel with the pool that was building a restaurant closed down both. Only ghosts remain. The ghost is trying to warn the heroine away from the town bad guy who tries to charm her and her family and lead her around.
Pizza Hut Pecos They Drill While You Eat 8/24/12
Last night we stayed at the Quality Inn at Pecos. The closest place to eat was a couple of miles down the local road --- Pizza Hut. It was crowded with locals who didn’t seem to notice that a construction worker was drilling and hammering away in the kitchen and cashier’s area even though it wasn’t apparent what he was doing that was so urgent that it dictated working during the height of the dinner hour. All the racket he created seemed extraordinarily inappropriate, but it went on and on. When I was paying the bill I had to hold onto my pen. The man was pounding away on the very stand where the cash register sat! Are West Texans kooky or what?
The ship looks like it’s approaching the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. I wonder what Captain Christopher Wells said during his Noon Report. We’re on the same schedule.
What I wrote to the BW Imlauer in Salzburg who objected to my criticism of their hotel for pre-charging my credit card and for my criticisms of their small parking lot 8/24/12:
I have stayed at many hotels in both Europe and the United States. It is NOT common to charge my credit card ahead of time for the whole stay --- particularly when you charged it days in advance BEFORE the time when I could still cancel. As it turned out, I was about to cancel and stay somewhere else, and you forced me to stay at your hotel because you'd already charged me. We did call you ahead of time and tell you we were going to stay at your hotel only on Friday and Saturday nights. We canceled Sunday ahead of time. When we arrived your reception clerk greeted me with, "You'll be staying with us for two nights." So we didn't depart suddenly or by surprise. You are the ones who don't have front desk clerks who write down what guests are doing.
As far as the parking lot is concerned, it was dangerous. I have no idea what other parking lots in Salzburg are like. I didn't park in any. I am contrasting your parking lot with what I am accustomed to in the States, obviously. But I was driving a Ford Mondeo, a car rented from Hertz at the Hamburg Airport. You would think your parking lot should be able to handle it. A passenger had to climb out of the car and direct the driver so he could back in and out. The spaces were way too small, the turning radius worse.
Postcard:
We drove from Pecos to Van Horn. We’re posed on the very edge of the Central Time Zone. Tomorrow we enter Mountain Time. Right now we’re 410 miles from Tucson. That is approximately the same distance as it is from San Diego (705 km).
Dog/Cat Report:
The dog got to stop at a picnic area on I-20 right before I-10. We don’t usually stop at picnic areas that don’t have bathrooms, but we made an exception. The last stop before Van Horn was also a rest area. Maybe they don’t have grass anymore, but the dog still likes them anyway. He gobbled up the rice and steak from the Van Horn Steak House this evening. He went for a walk behind the motel. There were even a few small trees.
The cat enjoyed steak from the Van Horn Steak House. He leaps into his buggy and hopes for a ride.
It’s 438 miles from Van Horn back to Tucson or 705 km. San Diego is 410 miles from Tucson or 660 km
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Unity FAX Kenny $4.99
Friday, August 24, ’12 (The last time you were in Van Horn was June 17)
1)Stripes Pecos gas cash $10.00
2)Stripes Pecos flat of water Bear Cash $4.99
3)Cherry Creek Chevron junction of I-20 and I-10 takeout lunch and postcards Bear Cash $25.48
4)McDonalds Van Horn cones Bear Cash $4.50
5)America’s Best Value Inn room 45 cash $82.32
6)Van Horn Cattle Company dinner Bear Cash $78.30
7)AT&T red phone minutes Bear Cash $54.55
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TOT: $260.14
Chevron Food Mart Van Horn gas Kenny $23.29