Thursday, August 3, 2000

We all slept in this morning and watched a little TV. A well needed break from all the hubub. This was going to be our first full day in Texas and we had a long way to go, a lot of driving and only a few stops. We headed east and did lunch in Van Horn at a neat little BBQ and Antique Car Museum. You know we love that sort of thing. The guy had about a dozen antique cars going back to the turn of the century- a very nice collection. I was just puzzled by the "donation" box. What would a guy who can afford to buy and renovate all these old cars need with donations? He was doing all right in my view.

On our way to Odessa and our next stop, The Presidential Museum, Andy got it in his head that we should memorize all the State Capitals. Vienna was bored and was anxious for something to do so she went along with him. That left me with just a lot of vain protests. So, Vienna took some time with the AAA map book and marked all the capitals on the list of states and we were off to learn the state capitals. What I had successfully avoided in high school came back to haunt me. It took us a few hours but we managed to do it. Now, I am stuck reviewing them everyday for the rest of the trip. Where did I get a husband like that?

Odessa was a welcome break from the drudgery of our school-work. We spent about an hour looking around the small museum all about the presidents and their campaigns. There was a section with dolls dressed like all the first ladies and even a room with pictures of presidential pets. Lincoln had a turkey, John Quincy Adams had an alligator and one of them had a raccoon. Andy loved the museum and his favorite part was the displays of all the campaign memorabilia, of course.

We stayed the night in San Angelo and camped at a KOA, again. It was a nice spot but a little muggy for our tastes and our night's sleep was a bit uncomfortable. Still, we saved some money and had time to do some laundry.