At Peace in the Texas Hill Country

Ready to hit the road

Mater in his nest

Friday May 9th was the big day. When I jumped out of bed I showered then dressed before heading over to the U-Haul store to pick up my truck and auto transport. When I arrived back to the house I began loading up the boxes I had packed. Tom decided to help me load the truck which threw me off a bit. Needless to say I continued to load the truck as he stopped for numerous smoke breaks and complained of the heat. I wanted to be loaded by 1pm but wasn't fully loaded until 2:30. I drove my truck up onto the transport and I was ready to go. Tom and Justin made sure my pretty red truck was strapped down before I pulled out. Placing a comforter in between the two seats in the u-haul truck and throwing in a few toys I made Mater a little nest to ride in. I went inside and bathed Mater then put his harness and leash on him for the long drive. We stopped by Kikki's house on the way out so I could hug my daughter and grandson plus say goodbye to Tulu my grand fur baby. Kikki had made a bag of goodies for Mater and kissed him goodbye. I finally hit the highway at 3:11pm. As I drove down the road I cheered Tally Ho I'm off to my new life. Once I realized that pulling a vehicle behind a big truck it not such a big deal I was enjoying the whole ride. With my driving directions in hand I enjoyed the drive with Mater sleeping most of the way. He did wake up for a little while to stand with his front paws on my leg as he watched me drive then he just curled back up in his nest and went to sleep. I stopped off in Giddings to fuel up and put a whopping $60 in the tank of the U-haul and when I tried to get Mater to come out and take a break he refused. The noise of all the vehicles at the gas station upset him so I climbed back up in the truck, put my straw cowboy hat on and hit the highway again. As I got closer to Austin I remarked out loud to myself that the scenery was beautiful. Mater looked up at me and sighed. Once I was in Austin I noticed the directions did not make a lot of sense so I called Justin and Sheena because I knew they knew the way. Once Sheena told me what to look for I was on the right road and at Hwy 281 before I knew it. That was when the scenery became breath taking. I have to say I feel the Hill Country is the most beautiful place in Texas. When my cell phone rang I answered it and it was Sharon worried about my progress. She was afraid I would have problems since I was a woman alone on a 200 plus mile trip hauling a vehicle.

"Where are you at Cindy?" she asked in a worried tone.

"I'm just coming up near Willie's" I answered as I realized that I was almost there.

"Willie Nelson? she questioned.

"Yep so I'm almost there."
"Well we have some bad weather coming so be careful."

"Yeah I see the lightning off in the distance. Don't worry I'm tough I can handle anything right now I'm on a quest."

"We will keep our eyes out for you."

"See ya soon Sharon bye"

Once I hit Marble Falls and crossed the bridge over the lake it started to sprinkle a bit. Once I found my turn that would take me to Granite Shoals I was nearly there. The sprinkling became a light rain. Making my turn onto the country road at the entrance of their neighborhood the rain became steady. When I found their road and made my turn I let out a long breath because I was almost there. When their home came in sight all hell broke lose. Tree limbs started flying at me followed by a wall of water. I could not see a thing. When I was able to see I pulled up and parked in front of their house and called to let them know I was there but stuck in the truck because it had began to hail. I had arrived at my destination right along with a straight line wind and a storm that blew past fairly fast. Once the rain had left there were four strong men to help me unload. I drove my truck off the transport and parked it in the driveway and we were done for the night. I was tired and so was Mater so we slept very well on an airbed that folded us up like a taco. Saturday morning I had to be at Wal-Mart for my interview. By the end of the day I had a job, a futon bed and a new life opening up for me. I am excited to say that I am here in the beautiful Texas Hill Country and I am happy and at peace. Oh and Mater loves it too.