As if driving to San Fran and back in less than four days wasn't enough punishment, Doug is off today headed to Houston. Texas has always been one of his least favorite states, and even moreso these past six years. One morning over coffee two years ago, he sat with his head in his hands groaning "I can't stand it any more". The next day he left for Crawford Texas to join up with Cindy Sheehan's anti-war protest camped outside the Bush ranch. Cindy Sheehan tirelessly campaigned for a one-on-one meeting with "W", but he was otherwise occupied clearing brush and riding mountain bikes with Lance.
The purpose of this return trip to Texas is to drop off old "Smokey" (our '94 Toyota pickup) for transport to France. After further investigation with the auto shipping company, we realized we could ship to Barcelona rather than Rotterdam. This was a very pleasant surprise, as Barcelona is about 3 hour drive from our new home in Leran versus a probable two day drive to Rotterdam. A shared container came available and if we can get the pickup there pronto, old Smokey will be on the April 21 freighter.
We spent the past couple days sorting through tools, clothes, books, bedding, kitchenwares, etc. to fill the truck bed with goodies since we have this space available in the shared container. Of course, if the freighter goes down, so do our possessions, so choose wisely.
The sailing takes approximately 28 days, so we expect it to arrive on May 18. Our plan is to head down to Barcelona and be there for the arrival. Maybe this would also lessen the chance of vandalism, but who knows? The next hurdle, and it may be HURDLE, will be going through customs with the vehicle. One thing I'm pretty sure of, it might be the only car in Spain or France with Utah license plates.
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7 comments:
Luke thinks you are correct that you will have the only car with Utah plates in Spain or France! It's great that you could work it out so you can ship "Old Smokey" to Barcelona rather than Rotterdam...that should save you a great deal of time and trouble...I hope!
I, on the other hand have Texas plates on my car living in Southg Carolina...because it's way cheaper than paying personal property tax on my car to get it plated here. And even though I agree with you about "W"...I must admit I loved living in Texas, especially Dallas. There is no state income tax...so you get to keep more of your hard-earned money and their road system is great for "chronic speeders" like me! I long to return to Dallas...even though they had snow on Easter! I hope Doug's trip to Houston will be uneventful and that everything works out as you hope it will.
By the way, you're a pretty good photographer Ms. Nancy!
I'll only say one thing about Texas. They should replace the sign at the border on I-40 that says "Welcome to Texas....Proud to be the home state of President George W. Bush". It should say something like "Damn, we're sorry to be the state that inflicted both George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson upon this unsuspecting nation."
Doug, you must remember to keep your the language on your imagined billboard short and SIMPLE, so his dwindling followers can read it.
And, Lukas, you're right that every state has its own beauty. You showed me a good time in Dallas, and my sister-in-law Amy confirmed that even Houston could be liveable. But the month I lived in McLean TX in a former life (pop. 830 in the panhandle) proved that some towns have absolutely no redeeming value. It was a truly Texas month---longer every day.
Well, then, perhaps we can open it up to our readers what a sign should say as one enters Texas.
Maybe we'll find out if there are any readers or its just Nancy and I and Lukas.
Hey Guys, Good news about being able to ship your truck to Barcelona cause it's closer. However, be on extra alert when you go there. It seems like we(Ron & I) and our daughter(Maren) later on and nearly everybody I know have been robbed there. Thieves broke into our VW bus and stole a camera, return plane tickets, travelers checks. We had to get in line at American Express to report our robbery...everyone who was robbed had stuff taken from their VW. Judy
How about this:
Hippies and liberals please continue on to Austin. Powerful white men with money, we welcome you...
Love,
Texas
I've been back and forth to Texas a few times...I've lived in Houston twice, Dallas twice and Columbus, OH for a miserable 2 years right in the middle. When I returned to Dallas for the 2nd time, I was driving late at night and when I crossed the border into Texas all I could find myself thinking was..."the stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas"...and that's what the welcome sign should say!
There is definitely a culture of "Yahoos" spread out among all the towns in TX...but I made some very good friends there also! I do think though, it's better to stick to the "big cities" where there is a greater chance of finding a "liberal thinker"...like Luke!
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