Silsbee, TX (Pop. 6,667)

We were both tired last evening as neither of us slept well the previous night. We settled down early and were soon fast asleep. I woke around 2:30, not sure why, but soon after, I heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. As the minutes passed, the thunder grew louder, and soon the sky was filled with flashes of lightning. Then the rain began—slowly at first, then with the fierceness of a jungle torrent. By this time, we were both lying in bed, wide awake, when suddenly there was a lightning strike that felt way too close.

When we arrived yesterday, we had parked the PLUM under a really nice shade tree. At 3:30 this morning, that didn’t seem like the best move we had made on this trip. But what could we do? So we waited out the storm, and as it passed, we eventually returned to the land of Nod for a few more moments of sleep. By 6:15, we were awake with the coffee brewing.
According to USPS tracking, the elusive box was supposed to arrive back in Oberlin overnight. We decided that if it did, Dana would head back to pick it up and then meet me at our day's destination: Silsbee, Texas. It was a lot of driving for her, but the alternative was to try to find another location and hope it arrived in time. We also thought about sending it to Austin. If it didn’t arrive in time there, we could simply spend several days in the city—since it’s reportedly awesome, according to others.

The post office opened at 8:30, but I wanted to be on the road before then. I set my alarm for that time and headed out around 7:45. At 8:30, I called the post office, and sure enough, the package had arrived. I texted Dana, and she backtracked to pick it up. All was well, until...

At 9:25, I reached back and checked my pockets for my belongings. I have four things I check dozens of times each day: my phone, a second phone mounted for pictures and videos during the day, my AirPods case (the buds are in my ears), and my wallet. So I started my habitual check: phone one, phone two, AirPods case, wallet. Dang—where was my wallet?
I had not stopped anywhere where I would have used my wallet. I suddenly remembered a recent story about a cross-country rider who lost his wallet. He vaguely remembered a rustling noise at the beginning of his day, 40 miles back. He had no choice but to ride back 40 miles and found it lying just about where he figured it would be.

I was 20 miles out, and Dana was most of the way back to get the package. At the same time, I was about 99.2% certain I had left it in the little blue box with my other stuff. It was the 0.8% uncertainty that drove me crazy. I called Dana and told her to check the blue box when she had the chance. I think she was a bit miffed at my carelessness, but she didn’t show it. Ten minutes later, she called with the “wallet is in the blue box” report. I could finally breathe a bit more freely. I’m sure this type of thing has never happened to any of you, so feel free to “cast the first stone” if you wish.

Dana is the SUPPORT DRIVER of the year!

I rode through some peaceful countryside, with some very trashy properties, a few hungry dogs, and cattle in the fields. At about the 26-mile mark, I turned onto TX 96 and rode the wide shoulder 32 miles into Silsbee. I had a slight breeze at my back, which helped me add several miles per hour to my speed.

The temperature when I left this morning was 66 degrees with 93% humidity. I arrived with the temperature in the lower 80s.
We met at a Walmart, hoping to spend the night in the parking lot. We were welcomed with "No Overnight Parking" signs. How rude! Adjacent to the parking lot is a Chili's. I called and said we were thinking of eating there for dinner and wondered if we would be allowed to park overnight. "Sure, you can do that," they said. Dang—that sounded good. So we’re hanging around the Walmart lot until it’s time to eat. Then we will feast and park.

I crossed into Texas today. This is the fifth state on this journey, and it will take a while to get all the way through it. Easy does it—it will only take about 20 days of 50 miles per day to get out of here. Easy peasy! Well, probably not!

Be well and enjoy your cooler weather—or hotter, depending on where you are.Okumaya devam et