Wandering & Wondering...

With Del Rio growing ever smaller in ALI’s mirrors, I reveled in the sense of elevated spirits and pure joy with this change in direction… and state of mind. It’s always good to ride relatively ‘new’ roads, or at least ones we can’t remember from previous treks. The weather was so much better than what we’d recently encountered, and prospects for the next few days appeared to be quite user-friendly for scooterizers.

We’d departed our most recent ‘home’ and headed northeasterly for either San Angelo or Brady, TX… It didn’t matter really which one we eventually found our way to, as they were merely targets in the crosshairs, but nothing more… spots on the horizon at which to aim. I have had some pleasant memories from stays in San Angelo, but no recollection of having been to Brady… Hmmm… Of course, the prospect of winding up in some other unthought-of locale was ever-present, as well…

The temps were still just a tad on the brisk side, but that would change soon enough, and the ensemble presently employed would be nearly ideal in another hour or so… no adjustments necessary. Not much in the way of scenery along that route, and no interesting photo ops were ever recognized. It happens that way, but for one who finds beauty in everything, it was still very worthwhile to be out there doing what we do… wandering and wondering…

Yep, riding for this unique practitioner has always included much time for thought. Indeed, the experience almost from the very start was more like a magic carpet ride to realms of thought not easily found through other means… No talk radio programs, tunes, or motivational tapes for this guy; this was quality think time!

I pondered the growing Coronavirus concern, and I wondered where it would all lead… This was just before the sky fell and folks started seriously considering wearing a HazMat suit anytime outside of the ‘safety’ of their own homes! Yep, we were still not sure just how serious this might become, and many of us were still in denial, while others had already begun hoarding toilet paper and bottled water. Typical extreme reactions to threats as they arise. Still, in spite of all of that, it was a very enjoyable ride in an unanticipated direction.

We approached the intersection where I had to make a decision… left towards San Angelo or straight ahead to Brady… I left it up to our girl, as she often has better instincts than her partner in these matters… I smiled as we continued on straight towards Brady… I should have known! It’s truly amazing just how simpatico we are!

We cruised into Brady, and a couple of suitable motels were observed… and mental notes were made. We continued on into this smallish town to see what else might be there. An eatery of some sort appeared on the left side of the road, and it bore the unmistakable signs of being a BBQ place… but I couldn’t see any signs indicating so. Directly across the road was a gas/convenience store, so I decided to top-off, take a break, and ponder options…

I inquired of a local-looking lady as she exited the store about that dining establishment across the road, and she confirmed my suspicions! Dang! We just may have the makings of stay-place here, I thought to myself, as next door to the store was another acceptable motel. After finishing my refreshments, we eased next door and…

As I was checking in, I asked the nice lady about that place across the street. It was good, she said, but then she went on to suggest other places, as well, including one next door to the motel on the side opposite the convenience store. Hmmm… Unless the local I’m asking gives rave reviews, and especially if they seem to recommend other places more highly, I’m inclined to lower my expectations of the place I was leaning towards… So, I elected to just walk next door rather than cross that busy highway…

Even though I’d had my palate all set for some ‘Q’, I looked over all of the options available… Since this was not a BBQ place, per se, I’d known even before I crossed their threshold I’d likely be having something else… but what? A good steak would be nice…of course a chef’s salad would also be good as well as needed and downright sensible… I chose the fried catfish… A vague notion but more simply a whim… I often surprise myself with what comes out of my mouth at times like this… It usually works out just fine, though, and so it did in this case.

The following morning we’d make the turn west again… This time of year, one can only ride comfortably so far north before… all that winter jazz starts coming into play… Heck, I’d figured on riding west anyway, only this time we’d thrown a little wrinkle into the mix, but that had made such a positive difference!

We didn’t know where we were headed exactly… just down the road this way then that… Sort of like life generally. In spite of all the plans, forecasts, predictions, and expert opinions, most of what comes up will be unanticipated… some really good, some really bad, but most somewhere in between… Prospects had a slightly rosier hue then, though, than they had even just a few days later… before the ‘Doomsday Clock’ ticked closer to… you know…

Hard to believe that just a couple of days ago, those were such simpler times. We could pick our noses with reckless abandon and not have a care in the world about whether or not we should wear latex gloves to brush our teeth… Ah, those good old days… way back last week…

DDT