2000-09-30 - 01:20:24

Got up early and headed for Texas. We stopped for lunch at Bodacious Bar-B-Q near Tyler, Texas, and Stella got her first taste of Texas brisket!! We drove on to Eastland, Tex where we learned the legend of "Old Rip," a hibernating horned toad that put Eastland on the map. In Eastland we bought cowboy hats, then cruised on into Abilene. After stashing our stuff at the motel, we got dolled up as clubbing cowgirls and went out on the town. To our delight we joined a local festival, the "Festival de las Americas" where we listend to a kick-ass mariachi band and enjoyed the local colour of Abiline's hispanic community. We cruised around Moxie's old neighborhood and went to a local liquor store (once named "Pinkies, now called "Watering hole #2) where we picked up a bottle of Jack Daniles. We went for dinner at Joe Allens' Bar-b-Q and drank or first Lone Star Beers. And our seconds. And our third. We were then ready to hit the town.

After obtaining directions from our peppy hostess, our first stop for the evening was GroundZero, a hopeless hiphop club and its upstairs neighbor TwoStep, and empty honkey--tonk. Tequila shots ensued. We decided to go searching for our own kind, and ascertained the location of the nearest gay bar (in Abilene!) Club Unity was its name. This iw when the night began to get hairy. We made friends quickly, with a new immigrant to Abilene Andrew who bought us countless rounds of beer and tequila shots. He told us that he know from the moment we walked in that we weren't from around there -- and its true -- We stood out like peacocks in a chicken yard. The bar filled up rapidly in anticipation of the night's entertainment -- a drag show and a strip show (in Abilene!)

When we reached our limit of intoxication, we left to visit the final landmark from Moxie's youth -- "The Blue Lights." - We dorove all the way out to the end of a long flat dark road on the outskirts of town until it dead-ended at an abandoned cross-road running a mile parallel to a chain link fence. Beyond the fence -- blue lights running along the ground as far as the eye could see. (in the non-m,ystery world it was the airport runways lined with blue lights.) We bourgh out the Jack Daniels for a final shot while laying on the hood of the vehicle, looking up at the gigantic Texas sky-- Full of starts. We witnessed several shooting stars, then sacrificed all the brisket to the Texas Gods.

On our way back to the motel we passed a mexican resteraunt that strangely enoufh at 2:30 AM was still open and hopping with cars. Tricked into thinking there might be margaritas to be had, we went in -- only ot find the place had bad queso and no liquor-liscese. We made it back to the motel drunk as skunks at 3:00 Am.