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Saturday, September 24, 2011

...and back to DC



Here's a little more about the last Texas trip, and the return to Alexandria, via Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, Wytheville, and Washington, DC. I didn't think too much about the route for this trip, except just to get there as fast as I could. I certainly didn't play on the way to or from. But a few spots along the path were interesting, and given a choice, I'll take a rest stop at a Harley dealer if that's an option, and Hooters always gets my vote for food.....Just sayin'.
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Here's a Confederate Cemetery that's right next to a Harley dealer, but I'll be damned if I can remember which one.....
[OK. I went back and looked it up. This is next to Thunder Creek Harley in Chattanooga, TN]

First choice for food...always. I had a bad moment at the Texarkana location, but the extreme brevity of orange shorts more than made up for the food I didn't get. Heck, I forgot I was hungry!

Where I went when the pressure got to be too much....I was at both places a lot.

Wandered around, got lost, and accidentally found this place.

Girls of Azle, #1. 
This is Aunt Annie, the reason for all the running back and forth, and she's totally worth it.

More Girls of Azle.....Joyce!

A food stop in Nashville, where a Harley shop is conveniently located right next door. Someone on Facebook accurately observed that this combination might be Heaven for me, speculating that I might never leave. They had a point.

The view most of the way from Knoxville to DC...More rain that Texas saw all year.

....and back home, almost exactly 48 hours after leaving Azle.

Got a lot done down there. The house is now mostly cleaned and repaired, awaiting painting, and is now my new home-away-from-home when in Texas. But to be honest, it was beginning to feel more like home the longer I stayed. I put a lot of work into that house over the past month or two. 

Legally, it's now protected from "the Man", and still in my Aunt's name. That was a big win, and kudos to the Good N.E.W.S. team for finding out how to do that. If you're in a jam with an elderly relative going into assisted living, and who owns a home, ask your attorney about a Ladybird Deed that might help protect that asset. Google the term for more info.

Thanks also to Terri for handling countless other details over the years, including giving me a kick in the ass, and getting my Aunt into a hospital when she needed it! 
Thanks also to Joyce for helping with the hospital stuff, and damn near everything else, including a difficult trip to an attorney office for some long-overdue business. Joyce is one terrific lady and has been at my aunt's side for years now.

And thanks to the efforts of both Terri and Joyce, Aunt Annie is now a resident of Azle Manor nursing home, where she'll get the 24-hour care she needs! Both ladies work for Good N.E.W.S, which is a non-profit group that assists elderly folks who want to remain living at home. What an incredible organization!!! And what great girls!

And after all that, I finally got home yesterday. First thing this morning, after some coffee, I opened up the garage, took out the Softail Custom, and took a nice long ride to nowhere. I felt the worries slip away, all the while thinking of the Girls from Azle. I miss them all, and one in particular. I might have to go back sometime soon. After all, I sorta have a second residence there now........

Cowboy