OK - now I am alert

I cannot believe I used to take four (!!) of those things (hydrocodone) a day, and not feeling it.  OMG!  I really was a danger on the roads and everywhere else.  That one knocked me for a real loop, but I finally metabolized it.

Now let's get back to where I wanted to be before the drug hit.  Oh, and by the way - there is no doubt I will NOT get back to where I was, and have to go through getting off again.  The effects were far too unpleasant yesterday.

Our trip.  It was a pleasant day and a pleasant drive although Mapquest didn't have the directions exactly correct.  Even though Austin is much smaller than Houston, traffic there is horrendous.  AND we were going to be staying downtown.  So, arriving at 4pm in downtown anywhere is not a pleasant thing.

Mapquest said this hotel was on the left  as we got to 6th street.  So we were looking closely, and there was nothing.  Well - a bank building.  So we went around the block - looking carefully for which were one way streets.  There was the hotel - on the right side of that intersection.

We pulled in, and registration was easy.  Good.  I love knowing that reservations go well.  We hauled our belongings up to the room, and there were a lot for an overnight stay.  I had packed two pairs of slacks and three blouses for the trip.  In Texas, at this time of year  you have to be prepared for heat or cold, and in fact, we did experience both.  So you really never over pack.

We were to go out to dinner with his brother and brother's wife that evening.  We called them, and they said they would pick us up.  So that  was taken care of, and  G decided to use the time between to find the court house.

When he came back, he said  it was easy to find, but it was up a STEEP hill.  He  reported that he had scouted out a place for breakfast the next day.  Staying on 6th street is staying in the party area of Austin.  There are a lot of restaurants and bars, but guess what - they are not open for breakfast.  I was reminded of our stay in downtown Ft. Worth where there was nothing for breakfast with the exception of the hotel, and evening meals started at $25.

We are used to the hustle bustle of big-city downtown, so we didn't want to move the car for breakfast.  We thought the traffic would be so heavy he would never make a 9 am court date, hence that was the reason for the downtown hotel.  We were in a  quandary about what to do.  We were fairly close to the campus of UT, so we set out in the car thinking we could find a grocery or something.  Our hotel was an extended stay, so we had a kitchen.  We could make out easily.

So off went.  In two blocks we came across a huge Whole Foods.  It looked fabulous, but it was on the left side of the street, and the traffic was terrible. We could have  never gotten in there.  We turned right to head more to the campus and housing area.  Sure enough - a convenience store .  They assorted food items among which were egg muffins that we could heat in the microwave.  Problem solved.

Dinner out was nice - supposedly at one of Austin's top four restaurants.  Perhaps one of the top four Mexican restaurants.  Not "Tex-Mex" but it was good - more Mexico City type of food.  The company was nice.  It seems all the tension that was there before MIL died seems to have disappeared. I am so glad for that.  We are too close and have too many mutual friends and relatives (duh!) at the SSB for there to be hard feelings about anything.

We got back to the room, and had been wondering why it was so noisy in the room, but we were on the street side, and just thought it was a noisy room.  The A/C fan didn't run continuously, just cycling on and off.  No white noise. So that would be a problem.  We are used to white noise.

So it was bed time.  Other than traffic noise - so many motorcycles - it was pure silence.  Neither of us slept soundly (oh so punny!) especially when the three fire trucks came screaming by.  When the blue norther hit - we could clearly hear the wind that was blowing about 40 mph.  It did get chilly in the room, and I turned on the heat which apparently had not been on this year. (It stunk, and G thought there was a fire.)

The next morning,  I looked out at all the folks bundled against the cold wind. All G had was a long sleeved shirt and his suit coat.  He is Mr. I Am Cold All The Time.   I realized that there wasn't  much traffic, so I volunteered to drive him the four blocks to the court house.  It was surprisingly easy.  The traffic was so light at 8:30.  Here the traffic around the court house(s) is a nightmare.

When I came back, I looked at the windows from across the room.  I could see daylight under the right side window.  They weren't closed all the way.  No wonder there was so much noise!  No wonder I could hear the wind.  I just sat and laughed.  The kicker here is that they wouldn't close either.  We should have asked for another room - but we didn't know that was a problem.

We survived though.  The drive home was nice - even though we got the news about out previous pastor and friend.  I didn't get a new pair of shoes, but all was good.  We certainly slept soundly that night too.

The cat was furious with us for being left alone over night.  Such an indignity has never happened to him before.  Simone had her spa day - a bath and her nails done - but she was a little miffed too because she had been left at the vet (among people who love her there too).

And that's how I spent my Wednesday/Thursday.  What an exciting life I lead.

Peace.