Travel Log: Corpus Christi, TX to Colorado Springs, CO (03/28/15-03/29/15)

After saying “maybe bye” to Jessa, my sister and I left the chapel and headed out the side exit. We headed towards the van where we would leave. As we walked toward the van I remember seeing Bro John and I said “hey I bet we’ll meet somewhere down the highway in some gas station”. We never did but we did run into someone else later on “somewhere down the highway in some gas station” lol Back on track, we first went to get something for lunch. We thought that Bar-B-Q man would be open but it was closed by the time we got there. So, thankfully there was another BBQ joint just about a 1/10 of a mile down the same street lol This BBQ joint ws Mr. G’s BBQ! When we got here I thought we were going to order to go but we decided to sit in and eat inside. It was in part due to us being tired I suppose. The other part was due to the super friendly workers inside. Since no other customer was inside some of the workers were eating and the others were lounging about. They immediately greeted us and asked us to actually eat inside. So we did. Mr. G’s was definitely different from Bar-B-Q man in a lot of ways. First, they have set menus and plates for you to choose up to three types of meats. In Bar-B-Q man you could choose essentially whatever you want and how much of it too. Secondly, they don’t give you as much as they would at Bar-B-Q man. At Bar-B-Q man I remember we spent less and we got a ton more. Third, the flavor and quality is different from both. Personally, the brisket in Bar-B-Q man is one of the best I have ever tasted. But, I would say that Mr. G’s has very good sausages and beans. And fourth, the BBQ sauces at both places are wildly different. Bar-B-Q man BBQ sauce leans towards the sweeter side of BBQ sauces. Mr. G’s BBQ sauce is more tangy with a prominent tomato taste in it. Both of the sauces are good and a matter of personal preference. Mr. G’s overall is good as well, it does look more modern and brighter than Bar-B-Q man, but I think I would have to give it to Bar-B-Q man since they give you so much more for your buck so to speak. While we were at Mr. G’s my sister actually found out that she did her translator yet which meant that we had to go back to the chapel. In my head I was actually excited to go back and maybe see Francesca and the other brethren again. Because of this, before I ate I actually went to change my shirt and shoes in the car. After we were done eating we promptly went back to the chapel. When at the chapel we went straight towards that kitchen where they were giving back the IDs. But when we got to the kitchen it was empty. So my sister went to look for someone to help her and thankfully she found a SCAN person who could help. Around this time in the basement we also saw Jessa again and I told her “told you it was a maybe bye” lol At this point I actually felt bad cause we found out that they only just finished INCTV at that moment. We subsequently said “maybe bye” again but this time it was for real. While waiting for the ID we met with a sister who knew our cousins in Houston. I think her name was Michelle or something. She was pretty cool. During this time we also said hi to Tiffany as she walked by. After some time the SCAN brother came by with the ID. I feel bad for not knowing that brother’s name but he was an elderly one and all I have to say in postscript is thanks bro! Afterwards, we left through the side entrance once again. While headed back to the car we saw Francesca. I was actually not about to say hi this time since the last few times I felt that she thought I was a creep. And she probably would not have been wrong. I forgot who said hi first but perhaps I did, she then said “what was your name again?” I then realized that she didn’t say hi back those other times because she didn’t know my name. Around this time her sister and a few friends came by. I remember Tatiana amongst them since her name was unique and she was quite enthusiastic as well. We then all talked about different matters and I remember Francesca saying that she went to Pikes Peak and felt like she was gonna fall off lol She also let me know that the donut place up there is not as good as Krispy Kreme, what a shame! I always wished that donut place up the peak would magically taste like the best donuts in the world since they are in an unusual spot for donuts. Afterwards, we had to go and I remember taking a group picture with them. I wonder what happened to that. Oh well,eventually we were on the road again.

On the road from Corpus Christi through San Antonio was fairly straight. I remember actually eating those salted plumes that are pickled/lime flavored during this part. I notice the green salted plumes paint my fingers green. This was after I ate it lol so I realized, dang my mouth is real green! Oh well, when we got to San Antonio I noticed heavy traffic in the south bound highway. When I mean heavy I mean it was bumper to bumper and stretched for miles! When we got past this area we drove a few more miles past the San Antonio city line to Comfort, TX where we stopped at the Love’s Travel Center. A funny story is that when we got there we say Faye and Shar there! It was quite funny and I remember telling another bro that I’ll meet them “somewhere down the highway in some gas station”. It ended up being Faye and Shar which was legit! At the gas station I remember filling up my Thermos and getting this Little Debbie pack of 6 small powdered donuts. I also remember asking the cashier lady what city we were in.  She said “Comfort, but it’s more like a town not a city.” I said “oh Comfort, home of the famous candles”. It kind of shocked me when she replied “I’ve lived here all my life and I ain’t ever heard of no candles”. It shocked me since their candles are actually relatively popular (and expensive too!). Furthermore, the famous Comfort Candles could be seen on a sign approaching the town! Did she not see those signs or left the town or worse left her daily routine of commuting from her house to work?! Of course its an exaggeration all stemming from Comfort Candles, but hey. Afterwards, we hit the highway towards Junction, TX. During this time I was just eating those powdered donuts while sipping the coffee. I also realized at this time that when I talked to Faye and Shar from earlier my mouth was still green when I said hi to them. Dang. Eventually we got to Junction, TX which we stopped at previously on the way to San Antonio. It was different in the daylight since you could see all these small cactuses in the outlying area. We also noticed an interesting BBQ place down the street from the gas station called Cooper’s BBQ. We were about to go there but we were still full from earlier. While at the gas station I remember going with my little sister to the fence of the gas station to look at the cactuses. It was interesting and I was able to get a picture. A funny thing is that on the barbed fence were strands of hair. It was funny cause it looked like someone tried to go under the barbs and got their hair caught. It was kinda creepy too. While leaving this area we also saw one of the Truck drivers fix up his truck and we said hi. The interesting thing is that the guy looked like someone you would see in your college classroom. It was interesting. Afterwards, we headed inside and I don’t think I got anything this time. My mom got these caramelized puffs that tasted like Buc-ee’s beaver nuggets lol My older sister also got these pretzel things that tasted heavily of dijon mustard. They were actually tasty. Afterwards we were on our way through the backroads and through the small towns. When we got to Eden we noticed that at the south entrance there was an actual “Garden of Eden” most likely set up by the town. From the outside it looked very pretty. We didn’t notice this on our before since it was too dark. Afterwards, I saw this donut place I wanted to go last time but it was still closed. It wasn’t even that late! I know there was sun out so it might have been around 6-7 P.M at this point.

Our next stop was at Ballinger, TX (BAL-In-Jur). I wanted to go to that store that looked like a bakery but I found out that it was just a Mexican restaurant. I wasn’t too hungry so we passed by. Instead we went to the local market “Shoppin’ Baskit”. It was interesting and in the front of the market was a community board with a lot of different flyers of events, missing pets, general information, etc. It was kind of cool to see that community board. When inside Shoppin’ Baskit it looks like a typical market kinda like a small k-mart but with mostly grocers. The selection of raw food still looked good even though Ballinger is so far from any major city. I also noticed that they had Western Family products which is something I haven’t seen since Guam lol Or at least I have not noticed it since Guam. Its hard to describe the environment inside the Shoppin’ Baskit since its obvious that its an everyone knows everyone town. When I saw kids my age I just wondered what would happen to them. Also, inside the store I noticed that they had this counter that looks like customer service but it was called something different. I forgot what the called it, something like community desk or something, but I noticed that they were selling ammo in the front of the desk! It wasn’t even in a glass case or anything, you could just go and pick up the ammo and look through the selection lol! From Shoppin’ Baskit I felt like I had to buy something. I ended up getting a Vanilla Coca-Cola and a few $1 Hostess snacks including a Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, and Ding-Dongs. When I paid for my stuff they asked if I wanted paper or plastic. I haven’t had that asked to me for an incredibly long time. The cashier lady told me how to pronounce Ballinger since I always thought it was pronounced BALL-In-Jur. Afterwards it was a fairly straight drive into Sweetwater, TX. It was here where we got some more gas. Inside I remember the guy’s bathroom was closed so I had to use the women’s one. Afterwards I looked at the postcards and they were kinda weird. I remember one had a pin-up cowgirl with a caption that said “when you get tired on the ranch you always got this cowgirl” or something like it. Some of the other postcards look faded as well. Also inside the store I noticed peruvian sweaters for $12. I was about to get one but oh well. Back in the car it was a fairly straight drive to Post, TX. I actually have a bit to say about Post, TX so i’ll leave it for the next post (lol). From Post it was my turn to drive. I remember driving through Lubbock. On the way to Lubbock I remember there was a crash near the city line. It had a lot of police and ambulances and such so that was interesting to drive on the side lane. Through Lubbock I drove all the way to Amarillo which was our next stop. We stopped at the Love’s gas station right out the city lines. It was an interesting gas station since they had this clearance table in the center. I noticed they had slim jims for like $0.69 each. I also noticed mini altoid mints for around a $1.00. I didn’t get anything here. Afterwards, It was my dad’s turn to drive and he got us to Clayton, NM where we made a stop at the Love’s gas station there. Then it was my mom’s turn to drive and she got us all the way to Trinidad, CO at the Shell gas station near Raton Pass. After, it was my turn to drive again and I got us to Colorado City. Throughout this length of the drive I was actually dead tired and nearly fell asleep at the wheel so to speak. When we got to Colorado City we parked at the gas station and rested for an hour. By this moment it was about 6:15 A.M. My dad was the one who drove all the way back to Colorado Springs. When we got home it was some time seven in the morning. I was dead tired by the time I got home.

Travel Log: San Antonio to Corpus Christi (03/27/15)

This day and the next has been very busy. I remember leaving San Antonio around 10:30 A.M. Our first stop was at this nice travel center in Floresville, TX a few miles north of Pleasanton. I remember seeing a bunch of Mexican snacks here including those spicy chips and a lot of other snacks from South of the border. I also remember seeing a lot of Asian preserved snacks such as salted plumes and others. I ended up getting these green salted plumes that were supposedly pickle/lemon flavored. Besides from these salted plumes I also got the donuts they made in house. They also had krispy kreme but hey go for the local stuff! I didn’t regret it either, the donuts in house were better than the krispy kreme stuff! I got a cream cheese/raspberry bar, glazed eclair, glazed donut, and a chocolate donut with sprinkles on top. I wasn’t planning on getting coffee but with all these donuts of course I had to get some lol! I also remember getting this awesome Mexican ice cream thing called a “bola”. It was coconut flavored and resembled and tasted like filipino ice candy. Afterwards, it was a fairly straight drive to Corpus Christi. On the way there was a lot of greenery which is contrasted to all the brown of the deserts in North Texas. It really was a beautiful sight to see. When we got to Corpus Christ the first thing that is immediately noticeable is the Citgo oil refinery. Its huge and in the distance i actually thought it was the downtown area! The city of Corpus Christi was like a freak blend between Charleston, SC, Amarillo, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Its noticeably a Texan town with a beach town flair. The Juarez comparison could be seen in the suburbs with very latino looking buildings/stores that look like they came straight out of Juarez. The first stop we made in Corpus Christi was at the new Church of Christ building in the suburbs. It looked very nice but we didn’t stay a while at the moment since there was no parking and we were hungry.

We then went to get some Texan BBQ at a local joint called “Bar-B-Q Man’s Patio Cantina”. Off the top I already recommend this place to anyone visiting Corpus Christi. Its relatively cheap to the amount of BBQ you get and above all it taste very good. I remember going inside and it resembled someone’s house turned into a BBQ joint. It seemed fairly dated inside with 70s style wood fixtures everywhere and the smell of an old house. I think it actually added to the charm. Near the register is where you could choose the kind of BBQ you want and they have ribs, ham, brisket, chicken, and sausage. All the BBQ is piled up and its actually a sight to behold. I also noticed that the workers were all very nice and will let you try the meat before you get it. The BBQ sauce they have available leans towards the sweeter side. I kinda wished we got to eat it in house but we were busy so we got it to go. Afterwards, we got to the hotel. At the hotel I actually met sister Kristen right away at the entrance. I remember her charging/checking her phone. She’s pretty cute actually and nice too. I also remember I say Faye and Shar for the first time for years! It was a blast from the past so to speak. We got to catch on old times and eventually we all went our way. At this point I remember we got to eat the BBQ and got ready to check in the hotel. When we did we got all our things packed into the room and got ready to go back to the chapel.

I believe at this point it was around 3:15 P.M when we left the hotel to go to the chapel. I had a meeting there around 5:00 P.M for an inctv meeting. When we got there I remember I had to give my sister’s painting to the art exhibit. On the way there I met a lot of brethren. Unfortunately, so much I had memory overload and could only remember some faces and some names. One was a sister who was also in inctv, Sis Aika from Little Rock, AR. I also remember meeting her family as well, they were real nice people. By the time I got to the art exhibit they were just about done setting up the exhibit when I gave my sister’s painting. I remember meeting one of the sister’s helping with the exhibit but for the life of me I can’t remember her name, I think it was Carla or something like that. Afterwards, I decided to check around the chapel, I believe it was around this moment I met sis Francesca of Corpus Christi. She is also real cute and actually really nice/polite. I wished I got to talk to her more at this moment but oh well. I remember then looking around the back storage room and then headed up stairs. Its interesting, these parts where I was checking were not renovated yet. Because of this they resembled old school rooms that have been abandoned since the Cold War. It was a bit creepy as well seeing all the empty classrooms and such. After leaving, I then headed out the back door. Through this door you will end up in the back yard which was fairly sparse. I then took a walk around the bloc. I remember seeing this guy on his yard with his dogs. He seemed like a nice dude. I then finished my round around the bloc. At the end I saw Ai-Ai from San Antonio, it was interesting and awesome. I also met this real interesting sister named Pea (Pee-Uh). I remember she told me that she was originally from American Samoa and transferred to Kaneohe, HI. When she said that I freaked out cause I got some good friends in Kaneohe. Pea unfortunately did not know them. Right now Pea is an exchange student in Texas and will actually be heading up to Canada when she is done in Texas! After meeting Pea, I went to the pastoral house in a block diagonal from the chapel. Inside it was fairly tight and I remember a lot of brethren from Edinburg I believe was chilling inside. I remember meeting a sister named Tiffany who was pretty also. She had short hair and seemed kinda hard to talk to. Around this time a brother asked me and a few other bros to move a table out the side of the pastoral house blocking a pathway. We subsequently moved this table and I headed out my way. At this point I remember going out to the side of the chapel where I saw good ol’ RIcky from Hawaii! It was awesome and unexpected! At that time we also met sis Rosanne from Fort Worth who was a bible student. Sis Rosanne was actually full of energy and pleasant to talk to. I remember I had to leave for some reason to check on something inside, and so I did. I then saw some of the more renovated parts of the chapel such as the function room and the staircase connecting the function room to upstairs. It was around this time I met two sisters from Sugarland, one was Bobby and I forgot the name of the other for some reason. I remember both were incredibly pretty and that Bobby had a good sense of humor when she laughed when I said, “Bobby? like Ricky-Bobby?”. I noticed they were going to the final practice so I couldn’t talk to them for too long. Afterwards I went to the basement where I met a few sisters from Houston/Sugarland area. The one I could remember was Risa out of the four. I also met John from Little Rock I believe. He was an interesting kid who said he had an older brother in Wisconsin. It was around this time I also met sis. Nikki from San Antonio or Ft Worth. She was real pretty as well. At this point I said bye to John and Risa as I left the chapel for the time being. I believe it was around this moment where I called my sister since it was almost 5:00 P.M. At this time me and my sister went up the main entrance and say Kristen and the brethren from INCTV New Mexico. They were looking for a place to sit so I brought them over to the function hall downstairs so they could get a seat. Before I left the function hall I met bro Jel from Houston who was also a CWS teacher. It was interesting to finally meet him there after seeing all the time at the Webex meetings. He’s a real cool guy! At this point me and my sister went back to the side of the chapel and saw Ricky. It was awesome and eventually we had to go to inside the chapel to attend the devotional prayer. When the prayer was over I got to talk to the brother I stood next to. His name was Matt and was from Humble, TX. Real cool dude and was a bible student also would have made his first district activity, this one, a legit one. Afterwards we headed back into the sanctuary to get ready for the inctv meeting. When inside we waited for a bit before moving down to the function hall. When here we then had to move towards one of the overflow rooms for the actual meeting. When inside I met bro. Chris and Rahmfeld. I found out that Rahmfeld is actually from Canada which was interesting. Before the meeting started I also showed Rahmfeld the bathroom which was this bathroom that was in the unrenovated parts. Around this point the meeting started and was fairly interesting. I remember learning about different photo shots that I should be making the next day. After the meeting we then headed on out way. Before leaving I met bro Rome and sis Irene from Austin and their son Justin. They seem to be awesome people.

Afterwards we headed out of the chapel and towards the hotel. When at the hotel I actually still had an assignment due at night so I went to the front desk to ask Amber if they had a business office. They did thankfully and I was able to complete my reading and paper. Around this time my mom brought over some mexican food which was awesome since I was hungry at this point. While I was eating I heard banging on the door which startled me. I paused for a moment then checked outside. A brother (who I would later meet as Pascal from Dallas) told me that it was a bunch of kids running around knocking on every door in the apartment. Afterwards I went back inside to finish eating. After I finished eating I went back to work on some postcards. It was at this moment where Amber brought in bro Joel Cubangbang (Ku-bahng-bahng [or as he likes to joke Ku-BANG-BANG]) went in to do some forms. The computer wasn’t working so he had to do some “arts and crafts” to finish his paper work. At this point he was able to finish his work and left. I subsequently finished my postcards going out to friends and handed them to Amber at the front desk. She said she was getting out at 7:00 A.M so I had an idea that I would see her again in a few hours. At this moment it was just about midnight and I had to get up around 5:30 A.M to get ready for the next day’s activities.

Travel Log: Colorado Springs to San Antonio (03/26/15)

Today started out when I woke up around 4:45 A.M to get ready to go to church. The church service went well as usual. When I got home around 6:30 A.M I got my things ready for the trip down South. I believe we left the house at 7:50 A.M after getting everything ready. The trip itself went with business as usual. I remember our first stop was at Colorado City in the rest area. At the rest area there was actually still snow. Its surprising since in Colorado Springs the snow already melted away some time ago prior. While at the rest area I also remember seeing this short guy who was probably around 4′ flat. It was kind of amusing since he was also driving this small blue car that was actually relative to his height. After the rest area we also went to the gas station right across the street to get some coffee. The coffee here was pretty good and was slightly darker in roast. Afterwards, I led the drive down south. Nothing really got in my way from Colorado City to Raton, NM. At Raton we got gas at Crossroads as usual. From here we headed east towards Texas. Our next stop was at Clayton, NM where we actually got to stop at the new Love’s gas station for the first time. While here I got a hot dog and topped it with ketchup, pickles, and cheese from the chili/cheese machine. In my head it sounded like it would taste awesome but when I ate it in the car I felt kind of sick. The pickles tasted like relish and it just didn’t blend well with the cheese, let alone the ketchup. After Clayton, it was a fairly straight drive into Amarillo. In Amarillo we made a stop at the Travel Center to use the bathroom and get some food. I got some original chicken sandwiches with pickles at the Burger King while the rest of the family got stuff from Popeyes. My sister actually got two Jr. Whoppers at the Burger King as well. Afterwards, my dad took the helm of driving again and we headed down south towards Lubbock. This way toward Lubbock is a bit new for us and different from the other route towards Wichita Falls. On this different route you could actually see the Maseca factory at Plainview. I remember one of our stops towards Lubbock was a rest area near Hale Center. This rest area was interesting and nice. It was interesting since it consisted of three different but small rest area buildings. In one of them is a small exhibit. It was also a nice rest area since outback is a small dirt road that seems to connect to a farm. After this rest area was a fairly straight drive towards Lubbock.

Once at Lubbock we made a stop at Wayne’s gas station on the outskirts of Lubbock towards Sweetwater. We got some gas here and I remember getting a frozen snow cone here as well. The snow cone itself was more of a novelty then something that was actually tasty. It was near rock solid and had barely any flavor. Afterwards, it was a fairly straight drive to Sweetwater. When we got to Sweetwater we stopped at another Travel Center that had this family diner inside. It actually seemed really nice and I remember hearing the waiter ask a customer if they wanted some coffee or juice to go. That seemed pretty cool to me. Inside the diner it looked a bit dated with old style wood fixtures everywhere. It also seemed like there was this buffet style table in the middle of the room. The only problem was that it smelled like body odor in the diner which was unfortunate. This wasn’t helped by the fact that right next to the diner was a Pizza Hut and there were little barriers between the two stores. The actual gas station itself was interesting. It had a lot of different Texan memorabilia but to my chagrin I did not see any postcards. I also noticed there were stairs going upstairs to a door. It kind of reminds me of that upstairs in the Twilight Zone episode “Walking Distance” where the business owner stayed in the upstairs with a door in the ice cream shop. From here, the drive was throw a field of windmills and a bunch of small towns. For some reason a few of them stick out. One was Ballinger (Bal-in-jer). I remember distinctly that there was a corner restaurant with this neon sign of a baker looking person. The sign actually reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s silhouette with a chef’s hat. For some reason I wanted to go there. Another town that stuck out was Eden just cause its name was a reference to the biblical Eden. Also, our next stop was at a Junction travel center. In this travel center I remember buying a lighter for some reason. The lighter itself was actually really potent and shoots a stronger flame than the bic lighters. I also remember a McDonald’s connected with this travel center. Both the lines at the gas station and McDonald’s were immensely long and I think by now it was around 10:30 P.M! When we were leaving I also noticed a few very beautiful Texan girls with the stereotypical blonde hair blue eyes. What’s interesting is that they were not really dressed to impress (so to speak) but dressed like they were going on a jog or lounging around in the house. Yet, they really stuck out and made me wonder how they liked living in Junction, TX. Anyways, after Junction was a straight drive to San Antonio where we got some rest before continuing the journey to Corpus Christi, TX.