I seem to have stalled out in Magill, spending two nights here and considering a third. It is not that there is anything special about this town, it is just that I need a break from driving. It is time to do my laundry, catch up on some email traffic, attend a System Safety Meeting, practice drawing and just plain kicking back for a bit.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip for the past couple of days has been the changes to the environment. Shortly after leaving Hereford a couple of days ago I noticed that the colors had changed, grass became green instead of brown, and the ground was no longer visible through the foliage. It quickly changed from slightly greener grass to large green lawns being mowed by big riding lawnmowers and forests with trees that formed a wall next to the road with their leaves reaching to the ground, preventing a view into the forest. I was suddenly past the desert and the plains, I was now in a land of summer rain and high humidity.

I now see squashed armadillos on the road and turtles making their way across the highways – apparently drivers avoid turtles but not armadillos. The double yellow “no passing” markings are no longer taken as the law, or even sound advice> Cars pass me regardless of the road markings, or the obvious blind corners – I guess there usually aren’t head-on crashes so it is safe to do so. The radio stations have also changed with the airwaves being dominated by extremely conservative political commentary or fundamentalist religious instructions. There are no longer any sources of moderate opinion – it seems to be all about the government being corrupted by the liberals and the impending end-time as described in Revelations. I set my radio on “scan” in the hopes of finding some relief, but without much success – it is all extremely conservative talk shows except for an occasional music station that either plays western music or light rock.

My first night in Magill was at an upscale Best Western where I got one of the last rooms, a big suite. It was quite nice, cheery and relaxing. That was not available for my second night due to a wedding and graduation. I moved down the street to an American Inn that was slightly less expensive, but much less attractive. I find this hotel to be quite drab and depressing but am not sure why. Perhaps it is partly to do with being an “enclosed” hotel with doors that open to long dark hallways instead of motels that open to the parking lot. Perhaps it is the lack of an elevator, forcing me to lug my bags up the stairs. The rooms are alright – kind of small but not unusually so. I think it has to do with the color scheme of green walls, dark carpets and bare walls. It feels like every step possible to reduce cost while meeting some minimum acceptable standard has been taken. No artwork, no open spaces, no bright colors, chipped furniture and stained carpets set the tone. Not really bad, but not very good either. The $20 a night saving is not worth the feeling of depression that comes with it. My variations in hotel accommodations reminds me of the tour that Mary Jo and I took in China in 2006. Our tour included a range of accommodations that might be described as varying from 1 star or less up to an occasional 5 star. I think they added in the 5 star ones to give a little relief. That is a bit like what I am doing. I can tolerate some pretty basic situations as long as I once in awhile get something a little better.

There are few dining opportunities in Magill. There are a couple of fast food places along the main highway, a home town cafe on 1st street and a pizza place. The home town cafe has low ceilings, dull lighting, large black and white photographs of people taken a hundred years ago, and a couple of huge stuffed bass fish. The menu tends toward catfish, grits, and other things that are not in my normal diet – obviously the local food is changing character as I travel into the south. The pizza parlor has more “normal” food. I ordered an 8″ pizza and a beer but got a 14 inch pizza at the same price, complements of the waitress I think. I could see that the six waitresses were noticing me as an outsider, they sort of huddled and glanced my way as they rather obviously talked about me. Every one of them found a reason to help me at my table, offering a little flirt as they departed. I asked one of them where I might find a bar. She responded with “Darlin’, you are now in the Bible Belt and bars don’t exist here due to local ordinances. They are an important part of a town.” I guess restaurants can serve alcohol, but there are no bars or saloons in this part of the world.

I am torn between staying here another day, perhaps going to see where those giant fish came from, or getting back on the road to see what adventures might come my way. I don’t expect many adventures in Magill but it seems that adventures come when least expected.