Birds, Snakes, Armadillos

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Josh dropped me off at a Wal-Mart that was kind of close to I-27 around 8:45 am. He was already late to work so it was the best he could do. I went in and bought some supplies and food. After a eating a hearty breakfast that consisted of a fuji apple, 2 yogurts and 2 kashi bars, I started making my way through Lubbock to I-27.

Once on I-27, I hiked to New Deal and took notice of all the dead animals I had been seeing on the road. I hadn't been keeping an accurate tally or anything but I knew what the top 3 animals that I saw dead on the road were. I pulled out my phone and updated my facebook status with the challenge: 2 cool points to whoever can name the top 3 (in order) most common animals I see dead on the side of the road. I got A LOT of hilarious feedback which made me feel really good. And NO ONE guessed all 3 correctly. I think Gio Cruz got the closest with 2/3.

While in New Deal, I took a rest at its only gas station to refill my canteens and change the bandages on my blisters. A young man (roughly 19-21) and his superior (about 25-30) offered me a ride to Amarillo with them in their big fancy F-350 quad cab. I don't recall their names, which saddens me, but they were pretty cool guys. They installed smoke detection and fire alarms and were on their way home in Amarillo from a 2 day job in Lubbock.

The 2 hour drive flew by as we talked about hacky sack, wake boarding, and dachshunds. Ironically, I wasn't even the one doing the talking about these things. The dropped me off at a Subway on 45th cause I was STARVING. After a good ol $5 footlong spicy italian, I took a nap in the shade of the United supermarket and waited for my old friend Cole to come pick me up at 8:30. I had been texting cole on the drive in and new he wouldn't be available until 8:30 when he got off work.

Cole and I went to church camp together during our high school years and lived together for roughly 2 years during college. We have a great background so seeing each other was really nice. When I got into the car, the first thing he says is "Sooo... what in the world are you doing!?" We laughed heartily at that for a few miles. Amongst many other hilarious topics were are matching Chaco sandals -- same exact color scheme!

We reminisced, I met his girlfriend and some of his kids (that is, kids from the youth group that he works for) and ended the night with a shower and a cig on the front porch. I slept well... minus the fresh case of fleas I had acquired while walking to New Deal!

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