One of the first lessons of the summer is one I had already known but obviously not fully learned prior: that there should be disclosures given to each party about items or information that could or will effect the other person in the car.

The first trip this summer (after the already blogged about Seattle trip) was to Texas.
When discussing with a friend my summer plans, Trixie requested that she go with me on the Texas trip. She was feeling the need for time away and she does after all have relatives there we could stay with.

I know trips are meant to be when everything aligns and goes maybe not how you envisioned, but if you let it flow, it is better than was imagined.

We prepped the car with our road trip snack bag and cooler, loaded a novel onto my iPod for our listening pleasure (The Light Between Oceans – as Trix had heard it was good), and off we went.

We kept the stops to a minimum and snacked from our stash.  What mostly sounded good on this drive was the jerky and cheeses with a few crackers and nuts mixed in.

We made it to T’s Aunt’s home the first night for a ever so brief but restful night. Aunt MM had a tennis appointment early the next morning, so we were off again to Trixie’s Mom’s house another 5 hours away.

We spent a night with Trixie’s mom LP, and then headed off again the next day to Austin to visit a friend of mine.  As we loaded ourselves into the car on this the third day of steady driving, Trixie mentioned something about needing to change our diet as she was having what they call in her family – goat poop.

While I hadn’t heard that one, I didn’t need further explanation and frankly I was a bit envious that she had gone at all.  I second that motion and so we stopped at the local grocery to get some fresh veggies and some juices before heading to Austin.  She opted for the mango smoothie while I went full in and got the beet juice.  I had completed a cleanse in the spring where beets were a steady diet for a few meals as they are natural colon cleansers, so I knew if indeed this was good beet juice, I would be relieved sooner than later.

As we passed through the countryside, we passed through and area rife with places that were selling lawn ornaments of all sorts.  We made note that we should check these out on our way back as my hubby had spoken of getting a gargoyle for his waterfall/garden area and this could save the shipping on a heavy item.

Then, as we were stopped at the light in the rural area, we saw a small place just past the local Dairy Queen.  We decided that we could afford to stop at the small display since we wouldn’t be drawn to spend excess time wandering over acres and acres as the others had shown themselves to be.

It was akin to going down the rabbit hole, as one little area would open to another and yet another and then into an entire indoor area full of all sorts of treasures.

Trixie found artistic wood and metal wall pieces that would go well in her Mom’s new place as well as a door sized and matching window style piece for her home.  Good thing we had driven my Subaru and had extra space.

While she was negotiating the best price for her finds, I made way to the only restroom in the place as my beet juice had kicked in and the time was now.

It was a quaint bathroom in the middle of the store and while I enjoyed the Mexican style painted clay pieces on the wall and adorning the small space, I was aghast that there was no fan/candle/air freshener/ etc.  No time to go somewhere else, I was as quick as possible and then grabbed the few items I had contemplated purchasing and made for the car where Trix was figuring out how to load everything she had gotten while I was taking care of my own business.

When we got into the car and onto the road, I commented that she must have gotten the deal she had wanted since she came away with the items for both her home and LP’s.  She commented that she would have gotten a better deal if she had paid in cash, but she hadn’t brought enough to cover.

“I have cash”, I told her.  “You could have used my cash and gotten the better deal.”  She sighed and said that at least she knows now and then asked what I had gotten.

I laughed the embarrassed laugh you get when your honest with a friend and admitted that I had felt compelled to purchase the few items I had contemplated after I had polluted their bathroom and fled.

“Well, I have Poo Pourri” she says with a laugh.

I had seen the youtube video on the product, but had only thought it was a fake funny add, not an actual product.  I was wrong.  The stuff works and we soon learned that had we shared a bit more of what we each had brought along on the shared road trip before this stop, all involved parties might have come away just a little bit happier and better off.

So, share the information of what you have brought before it’s actually needed when traveling with another is the lesson of the trip. Oh, and eat a more balance diet while on the road.

More on Austin next.

Love Sally