Day 6 - A Lack of Preparation

It was another drive-heavy day. After a ridiculously cheap breakfast at a taqueria (taco shop) attached to the hotel I stayed in, which in turn was next to the night club attached to the hotel, I began the long trail to Austin. It was a few hundred miles of Texas farm roads where I passed countless ranches and farms as the roads snaked back and forth along the hills and through national forests that belied the thinning greenery of the rest of the county side. There was a stop in Wellburn at Hullabaloo's Diner where I had a pretty unique burger. It was a beef patty in between two tortillas and topped with a green chili sauce that was essentially a spicy gravy. While the burger was worth the stop, it was honestly the cheese cake that sealed the deal. The thing about the cheesecake was that it wasn't actually made at the diner, but was instead made at the famous Carnegie Deli in New York City and shipped to the diner. Regardless of it's origin, this was the best plain cheesecake I've ever had.

The next and last stop before Austin was Dime Box, TX. Dime Box made the list because at it's center is a large Dime in a Box on display. The things left unsaid about Dime Box are the most important. Dime Box is actually New Dime Box. About 3 miles away is Old Dime Box. When the railroad came through the area in the early 1910's a majority of the town moved to be closer to the railroad, thus splitting the town in two. In the nearly 100 years since then, the town has all but died. The Dime in a Box sits behind a nearly opaque box of hazed plexiglass, a faded and forgotten testament to a town that itself has faded. Despite being a Saturday there was absolutely no one to be seen. The only sound was that of a truck on the highway nearby gearing down to climb up a small hill. In the hot, cloudy grayness of the day and the overall browness of the environ, it was a bit depressing. I didn't waste any time leaving Dime Box. Funny enough, there were several shops doing steady business just down the road in Old Dime Box.

With Dime Box behind me it was straight on to Austin. It was an uneventful, but peaceful drive up until I pulled into downtown Austin. I had planned my trip to Austin on the same weekend as the Republic of Texas 2010 Rally. A rally that last year attracted over 60,000 bikers, and from the looks of downtown, I'd say they at least equaled that this year. While the endless sea of bikes, some straight off the show floor and others completely custom and unique, was impressive it made getting around downtown in a car difficult and parking absolutely impossible. The other repercussion was that he few hotels downtown that weren't filled to capacity only had their top sweets left and they were going for over $250 a night. It was only after over an hour of phone calls and wasted trips that I found a room in a hotel on the outskirts of downtown, and it was still at a premium. On the plus side, the hotel was across the street from an excellent restaurant called Pappadeux's where I met several cool people, included a cool lady who just discovered she was getting divorced and helped me drink in the few hours before my birthday - which as of 30 minutes ago local time is now today.

Happy 30th to me.