i came back here for something, but i forgot what that is

So here I sit, thinking I'd like to go for a ride today, but instead of collecting my shit and getting my bike out of the basement, I find myself noodling on the computer and thinking about how much I really don't want to do anything outside when it's 39 degrees and windy. Having just come home from a week in Texas and the week before that in Southern California, this weather seems straight-up unreasonable.

Funny. This trip did one other thing to flip my perceptions. There was a time when I thought that, if I could afford it, it'd be nice to live somewhere in Southern Cal - not anywhere near LA or the Inland Empire where I was two weeks ago, but somewhere down the coast, near San Diego. This trip, though, I really fell for Texas.

The open and desolate expanses of West Texas, well, they are what they are and there's no arguing that. But on this trip, I discovered bits of Texas that no one ever tells you about. Austin (okay, so most of you know about Austin) is now one of my favorite cities in the world, thanks to the amazing music scene, great bars, crépes(?! Flip Happy!!), interesting landscape, and the generally relaxed and welcoming feel of the place.

Dallas is a genuine, big city that is way more cosmopolitan than anyone I've ever met is willing to tell you (Well, except Chris and Ann), and the rolling, green, tree-dotted landscape that surrounds it is nothing like the Texas we all think we know. Drive south on I-45, out of the city and toward the Sam Houston National Forest, and it becomes just plain stunning.

And then there's the people. I learned that Texas' state motto is "Friendly", which a group of us joked about when we first dug up that bit of trivia. After a few days, though, it began to occur to me - it's true, and not in a weird way, but in a very genuine way. As a lifelong Bostonian, I'll openly admit I have some preconceived notions about the nature of people - most of them are not flattering. Seven days in Texas made me question every last one of them. Now, I can't get the place off my mind.