I've been home five days.
I still haven't processed everything I saw or didn't see. Probably never will. That's life, amirite?
In case you missed the posts:
Here's Day 1 where I had run-in with Border Patrol.
Here's Day 2 where I spent the 4th in Brownsville and on the beach.
It all started with a Facebook post by Jennie Lloyd looking for people to go to the border. I didn't see the original post, so she later tagged me and cartoonist/writer Peter Bedgood in the comments.
The next day we met at Fuel 66 to formulate a plan. This was only the second time I had spent time with Jennie, and my first with Peter. The meeting lasted two hours. We were all dreaming of the "what ifs."
When I picked them up Monday in a rental car, it began a four-day adventure that meant 30 hours in the car together as I drove 1,800 miles, mainly all over Texas.
Jennie and Peter knew each other well. I barely knew either one.
What the hell was I thinking?
It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
We never got into a fight or really an argument. We all acted like somewhat mature adults working together to chase some sort of truth. We also had plenty of time to learn about our past experiences and the common beliefs and interests we share.
Going into the trip, I never put much thought into the fact that we'd be spending that much time together.
It could have easily turned into a dreadful trip, but thankfully it was the opposite. It was a really fun trip. I'm sure I'll never forget the journey. (It helps that we all have similar tastes in music and podcasts. That was really crucial, looking back on it.)
I've had a lot of people ask me why I would choose to travel there. Like I said before, I was tired of the TV and Twitter telling me what was going on in our country. I had the opportunity to go see for myself, so I chose to do it.
I believe building a wall over every inch of the border is a waste of time and money. I had this opinion before I went, but it's been reinforced by what I encountered in my one flirtation with the border where there were no beams.
Border Patrol spotted us and blocked us in under 25 minute, which is incredible. For all I know they could have been there in 10 minutes or less. If America builds the wall, will those jobs be lost? If they're doing such a great job, why mess with things?
Quick story I failed to mention in the first post. Probably because I still had the car rented.
This is the path I was driving down until we got out and decided to walk the rest the way. Probably not our smartest choice, but it worked out.
The "road" I was driving down was extremely narrow with brush beginning to overtake the path. There were big potholes and then I eventually encountered a washed out area I couldn't cross. My adrenaline was way up. The awesome Hyundai Sonata I piloted had a back up camera. I didn't trust myself using it for a mile in reverse.
I threw my right hand over the passenger seat and looked out the rear window. I asked Peter to stay out of the middle of the seat and began driving backward, what was probably a little too fast, but again adrenaline. That and the fact I could run into anyone at any moment.
I navigated us backward until there was a gravel embankment where I could turn around. I whipped the car and around and came to a stop. It was silent for a few beats.
Jennie (shouting): That was amazing!"
Peter: That was the best TV I've watched in a long time.
Jennie: Right? It stayed green the entire time. (Jennie points at the screen where there are still guidance directions lit up since I have yet to put the car in park.)
Peter: You were going like 35 the whole time.
Jennie: I couldn't do that.
Me: Hey look here's another path we can maybe take to get to the river.
Then I drove along some crops and found another embankment and got back on the trail where I parked, and we decided to walk the rest the way.
About 10 minutes later was the run-in with Border Patrol.
I've got to say, the Hyundai Sonata is an outstanding car.
Like I said, I spent 30 hours driving it. I took it off road. I drove it in rain and in a dust storm.
It cost $120 in gas for the 1,800 miles. I averaged about 39 miles to the gallon while maintaining an average speed of 68 mph. The car was roomy and featured Car Play, which made navigating while changing songs on Spotify a really easy task.
I highly recommend the Sonata for any long trip.
Our awesome Hyundai Sonata when I returned it to Enterprise. I really loved my time in that car.
I was adamant that during our return trek we stop in Lockhart, Texas, and eat barbecue for lunch.
Lockhart is located half an hour southeast of Austin. It's like two very different worlds despite the fact many who live in Lockhart do spend a lot of time in the Texas capital city.
When you go to Lockhart for barbecue, you have a few incredible choices. I thought long and hard about going to Smitty's, but opted for Black's, which is oldest barbecue restaurant Texas. It opened in 1932.
When it comes to places like Black's, I know I'm going to spend way more than I should on way too much meat that I can't take home.
There are pictures of the too much meat I got. The tray weighed about 2.5 pounds and cost me $50 when you add the two sides and drink. (The sides were potato salad and candied sweet potatoes.)
That giant beef rib cost about $30. It was worth every cent. The meat fell off the bone on the giant rib and on the spare ribs. I used BBQ sauce one time to taste the flavor and the pushed the bottle aside. The sign of outstanding barbecue is when you have no need to add or disguise flavor. If you're one of those people who live to soak meat in a condiment every chance you get, I'm not sure we can be great friends.
Oh, I did return with two giant beef rib bones after clearing it with the cook that they were dog friendly. His response: I got a lot of them in my freezer for my dog. It died three months ago, but I got enough to last eight months. He loved them when he was alive.
I now have two giant bones in my freezer because I can only imagine trying to keep Kida off my bed as she destroys the bone that could be used as a weapon.
Following our lunch, we decided we need to walk a bit before getting back in the car for the next seven hours. Lockhart's town center was only a few blocks away.
The courthouse. It was bland on the inside, but that exterior! Wowza!
Jennie and I popped into an antique store run by a nice older couple. I then walked down the block to check out Magic Mirror, which is a vintage store run by a young lady who relocated from Austin and then recently moved to Lockhart to start her own business.
Before returning to the car, I popped into Rollfast Ranchwear. It was as if it was calling to me since I spotted it when checking out the courthouse across the street.
As I walked in I spotted a vintage poster for Gene Wills hanging near the entrance.
Me (to myself a little too loud): Wow! A Gene Wills poster!
Employee: You know who Gene Wills is?
Me: Bob Wills brother, right?
Employee: You live here?
Me: Nope. Just stopping by on the way home to Tulsa.
Employee: Tulsa! I almost moved there from Florida, but chose Austin instead. I love Tulsa. My band plays Mercury Lounge from time to time.
Turns out the store is owned by Ben Sparks, who really loves Texas Swing. His band is the Rollfast Ramblers.
We talked about how amazing Cain's Ballroom is and how he wishes he could visit it more often. We discussed how Gene Wills actually played the ballroom more than his brother, who gets all the fame to this day.
Ben said his best friend is the new director of the upcoming Bob Dylan Center. Small world!
Ben told me about his upcoming event called the "Dance Ranch." I bought a shirt in support of it and told him I'd come back to check out someday soon. We agreed the next time he's in Tulsa we'll meet up.
Until then I will follow his shop on Instagram and probably message him if I see something else I want to buy.
Ben Sparks at his computer. Just above his right shoulder is a cut-out of Gene Autry, who was another famous Okie cowboy.
One last thing before I wrap this all up:
Before going down to the border, every single person I talked to warned me about how dangerous it was. During my time on the border, I spoke to a lot of friendly people. I do not believe they were the only ones.
A lot of people really love their cities and take great pride them.
I have a theory as to why seem to be so scared of Brownsville: it's because it's brown.
It's an American city where the dominant language is not English. Their 4th of July parade looked like it should have been held 25 miles south, yet it was a celebration for our country. Some of those in attendance born and raised, while others traveled across the border at some point in their life.
The trip was a great reminder that we're a big country full of very diverse people, who contribute to our society whether we choose to accept them or not. They will continue to do their thing.
Maybe I'm still naive or maybe just a bit too optimistic, but I hope to one day return to the Brownsville Independence Day Parade and see more non-Mexicans in attendance than just the group I'm with.
I'm really happy I turned off the talking heads and went to see things for myself.
Less than 12 hours after returning to Tulsa, I stood in Empire and watched Brazil play Belgium in the World Cup. I met a young man who it turns out was born and raised in Reynosa before crossing the border. When he learned I had visited his hometown earlier in the week, he shook his head and said, "You must be insane. No way I go back there. It's very dangerous."
I laughed and asked if he'd go back with me.