We made it!!

We're in Austin!!!!!!!!!!! If you keep driving long enough, you eventually get there.

The movers haven't delivered our stuff yet, so we're sleeping on an air mattress that's also our only place to sit down, other than the floor.

Last night, we started our quest to find the best margarita and best salsa in town. We were so exhausted that we came back from dinner and went to sleep at 10:00 -- and slept for about 12 hours. Today we worked on our quest for the best brunch.

We're on this quest so that when you come to visit, we can take you to all the best places.

On tonight's episode of Prison

Feline cell block at the infamous Hush Mobile Prison. Escape is impossible as the cell doors cannot be opened without opposable thumbs. Pharmaceutical grade, mind-altering substances are easily available (required, in fact). But the guards are generous with treats and provide in-cell petting at all rest stops. In the evening, prisoners are released from their cells into a common dining/play area.

Austin or Bust

We're in Texas. We're not in Austin yet, but we are in our new home state.

This drive seems endless. We're doing about 6 hours of driving a day. With stops, that turns into about 7 hours on road. To me, it seems to go on forever and I occasionally feel like we're never going to get there. I'm not a long drive type of person. And since I get so motion sick so easily, I have to do almost all of the driving.

I know you Midwesterners are laughing at me right now. "Six hours is not long!! I drive six hours just to get a good omelet." But I'm from the East coast and we don't routinely make the long drives that you do. No East coast native ever said "Let's go there for the weekend. It's only a seven hour drive." We use airplanes.

I also think about the people that went west in covered wagons, rolling along at three miles an hour. I know that I would have made a very bad pioneer.

Also, I'm really, really tired of playing Car Tetris.

We're where?

Here's a phrase I never thought I'd use: We're in Arkansas. Little Rock is apparently plagued by roving bands of ice thieves, since we have to use our room key card to get ice. And that's about all I have to say about Arkansas. It's mile after mile after mile of nothing, punctuated by gas stations and fast food outlets. At least that's the view from the interstate.

More places Andy wouldn't let me stop:

• Graceland
• The handbag outlet

still in Tennessee

When we reached the exact geographical center of Tennessee, we stopped to see my friend Brenda and her family (Murfreesboro, in case you're ever on Jeopardy). Those of you who were at the wedding will remember her as the Matron of Honor.

Her family includes the world’s greatest godson, Christopher, and the world’s greatest sister of a godson, Claudia.

Christopher specializes in goofy faces

Lovely Claudia is plagued by the goofy face-maker

Brenda works at a children's museum and had to drop something off, so we went to the museum. That may not sound exciting, but she got the animal keeper to take us into the animal rooms. We played with a blind opossum who sniffs a lot and is fluffy with lots of coarse fur. There was an albino hedgehog, not too much fun. It's very pointy and mostly just curled up in a ball. We petted a screech owl, something I didn't even know a person could do; it was probably the softest animal I've ever touched.

Andy touched a snake for the first time in his life. I wish I had a picture of his expression as I was about to hand him the snake. He looked appalled and for a minute I thought he wasn't going to take it.

Brenda treated us to our first home made meal in a week. Since we packed the kitchen, it's been all takeout. Traveling, our options are limited, mostly Subway and fried, salted grease. Somehow, a fast food place can make even grilled chicken seem greasy. Since we can't leave the cats in the car, we can't go in to a restaurant and sit down.

Tennessee

Tennessee is full of flea markets and cavernous, warehouse-sized fireworks stores. Andy vetoed stops at either one.

Other places Andy wouldn’t let me stop:

• Dollyworld
• The Russell Stover chocolates outlet (free samples, just for the asking!!)
• The cast iron outlet (I need a cast iron pan, the 87 pieces of cookware I already have are inadequate)
• Smokey Mountain Knife Works (because not getting chocolate or explosives makes me feel stabby).
• Baskin Robbins.
• The Loretta Lynn restaurant/museum/boutique/dude ranch/campground (it’s all right there together. It’s only 1 stop)
• The Tennessee Freshwater Pearl Farm and Museum (they may have free samples, but I’ll never know)

On the Road

Our car is packed without a inch to spare. Of course we want our cats, fragiles, breakables and some clothes with us. It didn't sound like that much. But thanks to a rooftop luggage rack that broke when we tried to install it, we lost space and had to make multiple trips to FedEx before we could leave. And then there was the large discrepancy between the volume of stuff I pictured us putting in the car and and the actual volume of the trunk.

It’s not that we buy a lot of stuff. We really don’t. We just got our first digital camera a few weeks ago. But we’re pack rats who have a hard time getting rid of stuff. For your amusement, here are some numbers:

• 82 books donated to library/Goodwill
• 332 books remaining in our possession
• 17 pairs of shoes donated to Goodwill
• 2 pairs of shoes purchased after the Great Shoe Purge of ‘08
• 3 full carloads of other assorted stuff to Goodwill

Playing Tetris gives you real world skills.

Contents of back seat area: 3 cats, 2 duffel bags, 3 pillows,
2 laptop bags, 4 tote bags, 1 throw rug,
1 luggage cart, 1 hockey stick,
1 cactus dish garden and 2 pounds of chocolate.
Yes, really.

We're officially homeless, since the lease on our old place ended today and our new one doesn't start until Friday.