Texas Vacation: Day 0

The end of 2014 approaches. With it comes the expiration of my vacation time, saved for a rainy day that never came, by one who’s too conservative with resources. I’m the type that hoards the best ammo when playing a first person shooter only to find I’ve beaten the game with a knife and the least scarce resources available.

Five days off. Two weekends. Nine days.

What will I do for 9 days? I can barely tolerate weekends; if I spend 9 days in my Arizona apartment I’ll either commit suicide or create a new social media website and become the next Mark Zuckerberg. It’s about a 50/50 chance, so not worth the risk. To the open road!

North? Too cold.

South? I don’t speak Spanish.

West? Been there too many times already.

East? What is east anyway? The fact I have to ask that question makes it a worthy direction to travel. New Mexico looks boring, so Texas seems as good of as any target to aim my iron steed.

That’s actually an evasion of the question of what to do for nine days. I haven’t defined what to do, only where it should be done

I know! I’ll write. I’m always telling myself that I should write more. As Issac Asimov once said, “writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers”. In everyday life I don’t have that much to write about, but during 9 days of wandering through Texas, I’ll surely have some finger thinking to do.

I evaded the question again. Now I’ve decided where I plan to go and that I plan to write about going there, but I still have no idea what to do when I get there.

People always dream about winning the lottery. Why would you actually want that? What would you do with yourself? What pride could you feel for your achievements when your fortune was lofted upon you by random chance? Working towards goals gives purpose and direction. Desire precedes action and action precedes a worthwhile goal. Without a goal, both desire and action fade away.

Can you have goals for a vacation? Isn’t taking vacations all about taking a break and relaxing? Maybe a vacation can be about leaving behind your old smooth goals and chasing rough new ones for a few days. Writing everyday, talking to strangers, seeing new things, buying souvenirs, and biking a lot seems like worthy goals.

Day 1: drive to El Paso (6.25 hours)

Day 2: drive to Austin (8.25 hours)

Day 3: spend a day seeing Austin

Day 4: drive to Houston (2.5 hours)

Day 5: spend a day seeing Houston

Day 6: drive to San Padre (5.75 hours)

Day 7: spend a day seeing San Padre

Day 8: drive back toward Arizon, stay in.. San Angelo? (7.5 hours)

Day 9: drive home (12 hours)

That adds up to… 42 hours of driving? Shit. This may be an ill conceived plan. Oh well, I’m booking hotels on the road, so if I decide to cut the trip short it shouldn’t be a problem.