Officially Homeless - Austin, TX - 205 Miles

Emptying the rest of our apartment went flawlessly. Hiring two guys to load the truck was the best $200 I ever spent. It was as entertaining as watching the strong man in a circus side show. One, who couldn't have been over 150 pounds, picked the dryer up by himself and carted it off. We spent our last night in Plano in a totally empty apartment alternating between standing or laying on the floor. The only seating available was the toilet.

We headed to Austin on Saturday the 25th. Three plus hours sitting in a car felt good after the prior few days. We'll stay with our son, Chris, and his girlfriend, Regina, until 5/2. Terry is settling in to working on the road while I opt for afternoon naps. I took an apparently unacceptable candid photo of Terry working. After about half a dozen staged candid shots and pointing out the memory card only stores about 700 images, we ended up with this one.



-------------Chris and Regina--------------------------------------- Terry Working

I took another step toward being a little old man today by getting a haircut at Wal-Mart. It turned out to be more expensive than my usual place so I'll have to look elsewhere for trims. Wal-Mart is just a little too high-falutin' for my tastes. I wonder if the Dollar Store gives haircuts.

Things are firming up for the next week. I'm reviving my Priceline skills as I go. We'll go to El Paso on Saturday and hope to avoid the Swine Flu. Then we'll spend a few days in the Grand Canyon area before heading to San Diego. I don't anticipate much excitement while we're in Austin so the next update will probably be on the Grand Canyon.

And So It Begins - Plano, TX - 0 Miles

Not the actual trip, but preparations are well underway. On Saturday, the 18th, friends picked up the furniture we were giving away. That included almost everything. Bedroom furniture and mattress, living room furniture, and the dining room set are all gone. Given my knees are shot and my back has been questionable at best my entire life, I stayed out of the way while adding the occasional "That goes" or "That stays". I felt pretty useless in the process which bothered me a little. However once I simply accepted entering that useless phase of my life, all once again seemed right with the world. I have not only accepted my uselessness, I have come to embrace and cherish it. I've probably been useless for quite some time but never had cause to recognize it before.

We are spending a week with no bed while two sun-bleached, green plastic chairs from the balcony provide the most comfortable seating. In college or shortly after I often visited people and slept on floors. In those days I awoke in the morning, jumped up, and was on my way. Now, after tossing and turning all night, I wake up thinking I must be dead since rigor mortis has obviously set in. Then I spend the next half-hour wondering how the Hell I get off the floor. I feel a new closeness to the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady.

Packing countless boxes of miscellaneous stuff continues. Upcoming events include getting our previously reserved storage space at U-Haul on Thursday, picking up a rental truck on Friday, and having our hired muscle load the truck. (Please see the discussion above regarding my general uselessness.) They will follow us to U-Haul for the unload. Saturday we have a walk-through at the apartment and leave town either Saturday or Monday after turning in keys. First stop - Austin.