We're now in a Starbucks in El Paso, TX, primarily to take advantage of the free internet connection from the hotel next door. The last two days have been a bit mellower than earlier parts of this trip, I think partly due to a growing weariness with sitting in the car for the majority of the day (even though we've been having awesome laughs and great conversations). I think it's also partly because driving through Texas has entailed vast expanses of nothingness.

Some Texas highlights:
-showing Steve around Austin, where I lived for two years while I did my graduate work
-finding ourselves in a teeny weeny town, Mason, TX, with a veritable town square and saloon (it turns out we were lost and spent over an hour finding our way back to I-10)
-the sunset on the way back to I-10 from Mason
-getting pulled over (Steve was driving) by the nicest cop ever--we got all sorts of great advice from him, followed by a gentle warning to slow down and watch out for more cops between Ft. Stockton and El Paso
-watching the lunar eclipse with Rosie, the manager of a truck stop outside of Ft. Stockton

Check out our videos from day 4:
part 1 - www.youtube.com/watch
part 2 - www.youtube.com/watch

Screw Starbucks for charging for their Internet connection. And screw Days Inn of Van Horn, TX for their shitty hotel rooms and high (late night) rates.

But kudos to Steve for being such an awesome partner and keeping me laughing through this whole journey.