texas

so i finally got around to going through some photos from the last few weeks. i hadn't realized how behind i was! there's some baby stalking pictures and a few family ones left from the wedding weekend. and now there are texas pictures. now if only i was so motivated to actually write up posts.

so far texas is ok. there's plenty of shopping, and good restaurants. we even went to a really nice wine and tapas bar with some of mr. z's friends the other night. i think that, eventually, it will be a fine place to live. it will just take a little getting used to... and some making of friends. i'm pretty homesick for all my friends and favorite places in columbus right now. but all that "getting used to" will have to wait, as i am off to new mexico to hang out with sister (ok, and do another rotation) for two months.

so let's talk about lubbock. texas. mmkay.

there is definitely some desolate landscape between dallas and lubbock. and some HUGE ass ranches. and horses. and cows. TONS of cows. and a whole bunch of tiny towns that look like perfect settings for events that later become horror movies "based on a true story." i didn't take any pictures because i was afraid to slow down long enough. self preservation and all that jazz.


closer to lubbock, there's cotton, which i have never seen before. i don't think i've seen a cornfield since the far side of dallas at least. but there's lots of cotton. lots.


and there's whataburger, not to be confused with lotaburger, which can be found in gallup, nm. we tried it today, and with the exception of the jalapeños, the burger was unremarkable. i view it much like burger king... tasty fries with underwhelming sandwiches. they do bring your food out to the table, along with a tray of condiments for you to chose from. which is a nice, if somewhat strange, touch.



and of course, there is the famed buddy holly statue. we drove around for a long time looking for this park and "walk of fame" with a giant buddy holly. we finally found a life size statue squeezed in between two parking lots. the "walk of fame" is a circle of plaques mounted on the base of flower bed in which buddy is hanging out. there are all sorts of streets and buildings named for the poor guy. you'd think he'd be in a more prestigious spot than in front of the la quinta hotel. but what do i know? on the other hand, i did find a HUGE pair of buddy holly glasses, but didn't have my camera with me. perhaps another time...


waylon jennings is also on the walk of fame, as is tanya tucker and a slew of other people i've never heard of.


texas is weird. all their stop lights are sideways. there is also a bizarre access road system of getting on and off the highway which i don't understand. and u-turns are legal here, which adds a whole new dimension of fun when trying to turn right on red...


oh! and i almost forgot. there's oil here in texas, which i knew. what i didn't know (but probably should have expected) is that there are oil thingies (rigs? derricks? whatchamacallits?) right in town. this one, at least, is disappointingly small. my dad and i did pass a drilling site, which seemed more impressive but we didn't stop to gawk. mostly because we'd been on the road for a million hours and just wanted to get to our destination.


i've seen plenty of cows but i refuse to take a picture unless its a longhorn. plain cows are boring. i saw a longhorn competition on t.v. so i know they are real... its just a matter of finding one.

drinking in lubbock is such an entertaining idea, that it will get a future post all of its own. and if you are wondering about the house. don't ask. seriously.