Dallas, Little Rock, Nashville, Roanoke

After heading out from Austin, I made it to Dallas, where my grad school friend Vernesha lives. She took me out to a place that had BBQ and fried pies. They do things right and proper in Texas. No mistake about that.

After enjoying the hospitality of Dallas, I struck east to Little Rock, Arkansas, home of the Clinton Presidential Library. The most impressive thing about the structure is the outside. The inside is sparse, filled with reproductions, and an astonishingly low amount of displays and content for a purported eight years of presidential office. Little Rock itself, though, was a friendly town. When I'm asked, usually by no one, which state out of all the ones I've been in is the friendliest, I can honestly say that Arkansas wins that title. Everyone wants to talk to you here, and they're all pretty chipper.

After a night with my journalist friend Kelly (she took me out to a terrific dive), I hiked up Pinnacle Mountain, which is honestly one of the most difficult hikes I've ever tried. Oh, I made it to the top, but it was less a path and more a two-hour scramble over jagged rocks, ledges, and children. I think it's the best workout I've ever had while hiking. The way down wasn't much easier.

From Little Rock, it was off to Tennessee. I stopped in Memphis to see Graceland. It was $10 to park, and an additional $32 to visit the mansion itself. I like the man's music, but I don't worship him, so I stopped at parking and walking around the gift shops, museums, and Elvis-loving tourists. And there were many of them.

Nashville was a party. A downtown filled with rowdy bars, each one blasting live country music. It was great. Then, it was off to the Grand Ole Opry for a performance by a bunch of country starts I didn't recognize and Riders in the Sky, who I did. They had a CBS series in the 1990s. It was very entertaining, and the tickets were inexpensive, likely due to the sheer number of commercials that they had between the performance sets. As the Grand Ole Opry is a live radio show, the commercials are broadcast to the sitting audience as well as the listening one at home. It was a barnburner, to be sure. Great performances all around, and the seat I had was pretty good. I'd definitely go again, y'all.

After camping just outside of Nashville, it was off to Roanoke and dear old Hollins University. I'm seeing lots of friends, having a wonderful time, and writing. And that's really the very best thing of all.

Texas: Lubbock to Austin

I breakfasted at Teocolote Cafe in Santa Fe, where Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) author George R. R. Martin is known to frequent. No Martin sighting, but I did have a tasty, spicy, Christmas-style (red & green chile) breakfast burrito. It was the best burrito ever.

I also happened to pass Billy the Kid's grave on the way to Texas. It was one of the only graves in a small, maintained cemetery. Neat!

From New Mexico, I headed to Lubbock, Texas, to see my friend, Valerie. Lubbock is home to Texas Tech, and apparently, one of the highest teen pregnancy rates and lowest literacy rates in the country. I didn't do anything to contribute to either while I was there. Valerie and I cooked a tasty dinner, and there was much rejoicing.

From Lubbock, it was a diagonal tear across Texas to Austin. My college buddy Arek and NY friend Lexy live there. Austin is essentially the offspring of Greenwich Village and Boston's Newbury Street. Hardly a chain to be seen (except for Whole Foods world headquarters) and full of outdoor seating, one-of-a-kind restaurants and boutiques, and a thick air of friendliness and warmth that I haven't encountered anywhere else.

Arek took me to Rudy's BBQ, and afterward, Lexy, her other half Tyler, and some other friends and I visited Barton Springs for a Solstice gathering. Barton Springs is a public pool but it's a natural mineral spring, with water that flows through it and into a river, so that it's far more like bathing in a river than in a swimming pool. The water, apparently, is always 60°. It was a beautiful way to welcome the summer.

This morning, I'll have brunch with Ben, a grad school friend, and then off to Dallas.

New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment

After spending a wonderful couple of days in Denver, I headed down to Colorado Springs to visit The Garden of the Gods, a park chock full 'o jutting, irregular rock formations. My good friend Tom lives close by, so we were sure to grab a slice of pie. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.

From there, I drove to New Mexico, where I have friends and family. My Great-Uncle and a couple of cousins live in Albuquerque, and I was lucky enough to be in town right when my Cousin Deb was to be performing in a jazzy, bossa nova band. She did great!

There are markets and fairs everywhere. Santa Fe's main square was closed to traffic, as was half of Albuquerque. There are more galleries and studios out here than you could possibly imagine. As many, say, as children at the Denver Zoo on a sunny day. Everyone's friendly, and the weather is pitch-perfect. So much to see and do!