Texas Vacation: Day 2

I wake up to a stress dream about REST APIs and hotel charges. I clearly haven’t been on vacation long enough.

Drive 12 hours. Arrive at Houston.

The hotel has valet parking only. You would think this would make parking less stressful, but it's quite the opposite. First off, my Corolla has enough dents and dings that it looks like it was used in a demolition derby. This makes me naturally self conscious when having it valet parked. More importantly, I have 9 days worth of stuff packed into it. Also, a disassembled mountain bike. I don't want to spend 15 minutes in front of the hotel assembling my mountain bike and filtering through stuff in order to find what I need to bring up to the hotel. I wander around in the sprinkling rain, cold and dark of the city trying to find a near by parking garage.

Also, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees from what I expected. I decide it's too cold to bike anyway, and hand over my keys to the valet driver after getting my backpack and duffel bag out.

Also, I got into town and settled at 11pm on a Sunday. All the food places are closed. I wander from bar to bar being told the kitchens are closed. Eventually I give up and order a beer to get out of the cold (I need it at this point).

Google tells me there is a Whataburger down the street. Amazing what comfort the golden arches of a McDonald's or the 24 hour promise of Whataburger can provide in a far away town.

I wander into another random bar. A live band is playing for all of two people here. Bicycles hang from the ceiling. Awesome art hangs on the walls. The two people at the bar are smoking in front of a no smoking sign.
After getting a drink, the bartender pulls out a violin and starts playing. Places like this is why I road trip. As comforting as the familiar golden arches of a franchise restaurant are, it never provides a unique experience. It doesn’t shock you out of your everyday life and make you question what could be, it just reinforces the enjoyment of what is. It’s familiar, normal, safe. It isn’t exciting, new, and dangerous. It makes the 12 hours of driving worth it, because all the memories of franchise restaurants will fade away, but that time in Houston, Texas when the bartender pulled a violin out from under the bar will stay with you.