We ARE in Texas - Dickinson, TX

OK, we know we are in Texas - one of the first indication was a sign for “Midget Wrestling".

On another note - the frontage roads run on each side of the interstates (at 50mph, no less). This makes for easy access to the businesses lining the interstate and provides an alternative to the highway during rush hour.

Fall Colors - Dickinson, TX

You know how everyone goes North for the Fall colors – Vermont, Wisconsin, etc. We don’t get it! The colors here are really amazing. Maybe they should advertise that the South has colors too and is much much warmer in early November!

Hemmingway as a Blogger - Dickinson, TX

We just finished reading Ernest Hemmingway’s A Movable Feast. It’s about his time after World War I while he, his wife and child were mostly in Paris. He was still doing journalism and working on his writing of short stories and a novel. It really reads well and puts you in the flavor of Paris at the time. We both thought it read like a modern day blog!

More creative store names:
Bumper To Bumper – Auto Parts Store
San Leon Liquors & Defensive Driving School in the same building
Junk and Disorderly - Used Stuff Store
Little Bo-Tique – Clothing Store

"Poop" 2 - Winnie, TX

Before taking off this morning Ruthi walked Karma. This time she was ready for the “poop” location and avoid it successfully. Then Ruthi saw more “piles” that looked exactly the same. Upon closer inspection, she identified that it wasn’t dog poop but the underside of a large mushroom. So, Karma had been “tripping” last night and passed out not just asleep. She was into “srooms”.

"Poop" 1 - Winnie, TX

Tonight, Karma found something interesting to eat while on her walk. Ruthi caught her, as quickly as possible, and assumed, from a cursory look, it was another dog’s poop. Sometimes that is very tasty for female dogs – UGH! Anyway, Karma had chased the Frisbee a bit before we started our drive to Winnie. She had been awake all day in the truck as we drove. Karma was fairly exhausted and fell asleep on the living room floor and didn’t move for about 4 hours. While she has slept on the floor before, usually she’ll change position or move to her crate and then back again. But tonight she didn’t move except to breathe - unusual but not worrisome.

LSU vs. Alabama - Denham Springs, LA

Leaving Foley, AL for Denham Springs, LA this morning, we had wondered if the LSU fans coming back from Tuscaloosa, AL after beating ‘Bama (University of Alabama OR The Crimson Tide) 9-6 in overtime yesterday would make the traffic heavy. Ruthi thought they would all be sleeping in from a night of celebration/libations. Boots having a more Southern sensibility knew they would drive drunk if need be to get home for the NFL games or to brag about seeing the game!!! Boots was right!!

We identified at least 4 dozen marked LSU fan vehicles with a lot more that probably belonged to them. The last 90 miles of our trip coincided with their path from Tuscaloosa to Baton Rouge. So, we were passed by a lot of college students, proud parents, and drunk fans!!!

French - Baton Rouge, LA

When Ruthi went to take Karma to the park’s fenced dog park, she met a little boy (6 or 7 YO) and let him pet Karma. Trying to have a conversation with him proved challenging until he was able to tell Ruthi that he only spoke French. He and his family were visiting from Quebec and while the parents were bilingual neither he nor his older sister (who came to play with Karma later) spoke any English. Ruthi talked with the parents about dogs and where they were headed (New Orleans) before returning to the cold north and snow. Then the kids and Ruthi (a big kid herself) went to the dog park and took turns throwing the Frisbee for Karma. A dog can be a common language for all ages.