H-96 Pecos L H 69 L 55 H H 67 L 54 M H 79 L 65 T-STORMS
L-70 C H 93 L 74
Bear update: The Bear says The Amazon Has Staged A Rebellion Party. TR says, “She and her piratesses have tried to take over my triumph.” Moose say, “Doesn’t sound like much of a triumph, Bear!” Lou says we will have a We Don’t Want The Piratesses To Win The Day Party. We will serve Pirate Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last? No! It rained while we were loading up the car. But it got sunny later. The temperature in Pecos climbed to 96. I saw a temperature sign on the way to dinner that said 102.
Tucson 93/72 Brooklyn 83/69
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast in the lobby. The OJ wasn’t drinkable again. A man was painting the hallway as we were checking out. I had to tell him to get away from our room. That wasn’t the only obstacle. For the third time on this return trip we had to load the car under an overhang in front of the lobby. At least it stopped raining before we left and we didn’t have to drive in it. We checked out of room 123 at 10:44AM. We hadn’t researched the route last night. We there wasn’t much to research. We had to use the same pit stops we did the last time. The 1st pit stop was at exit 115 Odessa at a McDonalds Loves. We got gas and went to the ATM. The 2nd pit stop was lunch at exit 80 at a McDonalds in Monahans. This was the McDonalds where all the employees wear Always Hiring T-shirts. Gary called Orvis. There seemed to be a problem with the billing address of the card I used last night to place the order for tees. After lunch the road seemed very deserted. Not that there wasn’t any traffic. There wasn’t anything lining the highway except empty fields stretching on forever --- that and pump jacks. And the rest area was, of course, closed. We crossed a dry ditch called the Pecos River. We’re now officially West of the Pecos. Pecos is the next 4 exits. We pulled off the road for the day at exit 42 at the Quality Inn at Pecos. We checked into room 113, which doesn’t sound very lucky. I was amazed to see a palo verde tree in the parking lot. Soon I recognized prickly pear and yucca, too. Kenny looked it up online. This is the beginning of the Chihuahuan Desert. I told people days ago that sooner or later we were going to run into the heat. Well, we finally ran into it in Pecos. For the rest of the trip back it will be hot, and we’ll be in the Chihuahuan Desert until we’re west of Benson.
Gary tried to do laundry at the Quality Inn. He got as far as the washing machine. The dryer was coated with stuff from the oil fields. We put the wet clothes in the back of our car and went to Pizza Hut down the street for dinner. When I was signing the dinner check a workman was pounding and drilling on the stand I was using near the cash register. Odd!
Pool Closed Until Further Notice --- What Kind Of Motel Room Does $259.92/Night Buy You In Texas? 8/23/12
We paid top dollar for our Midland La Quinta North motel room. We were on a waiting list to even get it for Wednesday night. But we were shocked to find a sign on the pool when we checked in: POOL CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. We paid more for this motel room than we paid for any other on our trip to the northeast and back. It was even more expensive than the Comfort Inn Brooklyn Cruise Terminal at $191.54. Maybe a pool could be closed at an America’s Best Value Inn in Van Horn or at a HoJo’s New Stanton. But we were paying a fraction of the cost there.
In addition I unfolded a brochure advertising La Quinta Reward Cards. I recalled that this was the place where I got my card coming East in June. I wanted a new card to write my number on. The old one was getting crumpled. I was shocked to see that they hadn’t bothered to replace the brochure since I cut out the card in June. I’ll bet anything it was me. It was the same room 123 we’d occupied the last time in Midland. I can’t prove it, but I have a sneaky suspicion.
There were all sorts of oil workers and workmen hanging around the motel. It’s not the sort of atmosphere you would expect on a vacation. There was even a sign up on the washing machine notifying guests that you weren’t supposed to use the guest laundry to wash oilfield work clothes. The hotel even had a painter painting the hall next to our door when we were checking out. He was dripping paint on the carpet. I had to shoo him away.
We went to the breakfast in the lobby only to find a sparse choice of breakfast items. Worst of all, the orange juice was undrinkable just like the orange juice in Abilene. For $259.92, wouldn’t you expect fresh squeezed?
Absolutely no value here for the dollars spent!
Van Horn 90/69
A Dirt Parking Lot And No Restaurants For $159.95. That should be the subject of tomorrow’s blog. Couldn’t dry our clothes. The dryer was coated with stuff from the oil fields.
Pizza Hut Pecos: Never Before Was I Signing a Receipt When A workman was drilling and pounding on the stand.
Postcard:
We drove from Midland to Pecos. We were surprised to find palo verde trees, prickly pears, yucca, ad palm trees in the parking lot of the quality Inn in Pecos. It reminded us of Tucson. Apparently Pecos is in theChihuahuan Desert. The heat is back. We’re 528 miles from the house (850 km).
Dog/Cat Report:
The dog had wings from Pizza Hut for dinner. That’s a first on this trip. We threw in a bag of potato chips. We’re going back to the 11:00PM walks because of the heat.
The cat was up last night ripping apart the room. He raced around and scratched the mattresses, the chairs, the rugs, and everything in sight. He was making a lot of noise in his pan. He yowled and charged. He was waking us up and keeping us up ---- along with the other guests trudging around over us in the room on the second floor.
It’s almost 6000 miles from Tucson to Salzburg, Austria one-way. It’s 4153.3 miles from Tucson to Homer, Alaska one-way. It’s 12000 miles round trip from Tucson to Austria but only a little over 8000 miles from Tucson to Homer and back.
Witticism Contest:
Bear: How do you hold a triumph?
Fatty: He picks up the Bear.
Bear: Let me down!
Fatty: Now it’s my turn . . . (Rubs his hands together) What is the fastest way to go to hell?
Bear: To listen to anything you say, monster.
Fatty: No! To drive through Fate, Texas
Bear screams.
I look up The Lusitania Plot to see where it’s located on my computer and what version is the most current. That’s where I must begin work when I get back. I’ll edit that novel again, then Sphinx, then Berghof, then Escape, then Dunkirk. I see that the most recent version is dated April 13. I was apparently on page 121. I think I was coming up with quotes for Shelfari before either trip started. It seems so long ago now, almost another life. Dora was on the trolley. Since then I’ve been to Pittsburgh myself. It’s amazing.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Thursday, August 23, ’12 (You ate lunch in Pecos at Stripes on June 18)
1)Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Odessa gas cash $30.00
2)McDonalds Monahans lunch Bear Cash $25.46
3)Quality Inn Pecos room 113 cash $159.95
4)Pizza Hut Pecos dinner Bear Cash $39.51
5)laundry $2.00
________________________________
TOT: $256.92
Unity FAX Kenny $4.99