{"id":140,"date":"2013-12-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-3.html"},"modified":"2014-08-22T16:02:38","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T21:02:38","slug":"through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rebeccafrech\/2013\/12\/through-hell-and-buffalo-texas-an-epic-journey-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Through Hell and Buffalo, Texas – an epic journey – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

(Need to catch up? Go here for Part 1<\/a> and here for Part 2<\/a>.) <\/p>\n

I went in search of somewhere to stay for the night. In a town of 1600, I wasn\u2019t sure what I would find. With a car running on battery power only, I didn\u2019t want to attempt driving any further than I had to.<\/p>\n

I grabbed some fried chicken from a drive-thru, then crossed the highway and found a motel with the \u201cvacancy\u201d sign lit. It looked a little Norman Bates-ish, but I decided to ignore it. All I wanted by then was dinner, a glass of wine, and a hot bath. I walked into the lobby and was greeted by a raspy smoker\u2019s voice \u201cWhatcha need?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need a non-smoking room for just tonight.\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n

The rotund clerk stepped out from the back room, stubbed out a cigarette, and looked me over from head to toe. \u201cYou alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I lied. \u201cMy husband is with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clerk leaned forward and looked at my car. \u201cIs he invisible? I don\u2019t see him.\u201d and then snorted once in laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI left him to pick up dinner.\u201d I said. \u201cA non-smoking room?\u201d I pushed my driver\u2019s license and credit card across the desk.<\/p>\n

A few keyboard clicks later, I was on my way to room 106. It faced away from the street and toward a broken half-fallen down wood fence. I opened the door and was assaulted by the smell of stale cigarettes and the even stronger stench of marijuana. The room might have been \u201cnon-smoking\u201d but no one had bothered to tell the previous guests that. I thought about calling the front desk to complain, but decided against it. Dinner, bath, and a glass of wine.<\/p>\n

Across the street from the hotel was a big-ish gas station. The bright yellow front was familiar and comforting because of it. I decided to run across the street rather than walk, because with my luck the car would die in their parking lot and further complicate things. I stepped back into the mist, thought \u201cglass of wine\u201d, and made a dash for it.<\/p>\n

I scanned the inside of the convenience store for the liquor section. I was surely not the first person driven to drink by Buffalo, Texas\u2026after all, I\u2019d seen Bill in nearly all his glory. But there wasn\u2019t one. No beer. None of those little wine glasses with the plastic on top. Not a bottle of anything. I just knew I was missing something, and waited in line for the clerk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWine?\u201d I asked hopefully. \u201cThe little single serve glasses? Red\/white doesn\u2019t matter. Where would I find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clerk\u2019s face drooped. He shook his head and said apologetically, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any, ma\u2019am. This is a dry county.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course it was. <\/p>\n

I grabbed a Dr Pepper and a Moon Pie \u2013 Texas comfort food \u2013 and trudged back to Room 106. There was no reason to hurry. You reach a tipping point of \u201cthis is as wet as I can get,\u201d and I was there.<\/p>\n

Once back in my room, I changed into my pajamas and tried to figure out why the room was so blasted cold. The heater was turned off. Genius. I cranked it on, but other than the smell of burning dust, there was no proof it was working. I added a second pair of socks and tried to stop shivering.<\/p>\n

I warmed up the chicken and fries in the microwave. I ate dinner curled up under the blankets. There were only a dozen channels on the TV \u2013 local, wether, sports, news, and a classic movie channel. The movie was something with Clark Gable, so I watched the end of it.<\/p>\n

The heater finally decided that I really did want the room to be warm and began working. Once I stopped shivering, I decided that a hot bath was what I needed. I pulled back the shower curtain and saw that the tub was without a stopper. Smoke smell I could live with, cold could be withstood, but no bath was my final straw. I called the front desk and reported the lack of a stopper in the room. Could I switch rooms, or did they have one at the front desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo stoppers in any of them,\u201d the gravelly voice said. \u201cSome guy flooded his room last summer so we took them all out. Take a shower instead.\u201d and the phone disconnected.<\/p>\n

Perfection.<\/p>\n

With no other options than where I was, I dragged the table and three chairs in front of the door. The desk clerk was sketchy, and I was alone on my side of the place. I was done taking chances. <\/p>\n

It was nearly 9:00 and I was laughing in that way that\u2019s wrapped up with crying and you can\u2019t figure out how you feel any longer.<\/p>\n

I tweeted:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Around 10:00 my phone buzzed with a text from my husband. \u201cI have the alternator. I\u2019ll be there in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was still a chance. Houston was a possibility. I just had to get to morning. Help was on the way. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Need to catch up? Go here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.) I went in search of somewhere to stay for the night. In a town of 1600, I wasn\u2019t sure what I would find. With a car running on battery power only, I didn\u2019t want to attempt driving any further than I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThrough Hell and Buffalo, Texas - an epic journey - Part 3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"(Need to catch up? Go here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.) I went in search of somewhere to stay for the night. 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