Livin' The Dream!

Howdy. I’ve been in Fort Worth for a week now, and we’ve only flown two days due mostly to low clouds and visibility. I’m sitting at Panther City Coffee, my new favorite Fort Worth Coffee Shop. I wound up here on Saturday as I was exploring the TCU campus. Steve, a.k.a. “Badger,” runs the place and informed me that they just opened after the first of the year. He’s a super friendly guy who used to work in the IT department of a major aerospace firm. Check them out at www.panthercitycoffee.com . I ended up goin’ back later that night to hear a father/daughter singin’ and strummin’ duo. They called themselves “Better Off Dad.” Cute. They were really pretty good. The girl was only 14, but she could wail. Her lawyer dad rightly referred to her as his “greatest musical achievement.” I was surprised to hear that their repertoire consisted mostly of melancholy songs about suicide and drug addiction. They really seemed to enjoy playing together though, which I found refreshing.

I checked out of my hotel today. Took my newly acquired tent and sleeping bag to Eagle Mountain Lake and set up camp. The people at the hotel desk looked at me like I had completely lost my wits; or I had just dealt them a very deep insult. “I would rather sleep on the cold, hard, ground than in your hotel!” I don’t really expect everybody to get it, but I have a much better view now, and it’s a whole lot cheaper. I always have the option of checking into a hotel if it gets too wet or cold, but I’d rather not. The campground is right on the shore of the lake, and its super quiet. I’m the only tent there; seems like everybody else is a permanent RV resident. I met one of my neighbors. His name is Ray. He’s got longish hair and his paunch filled a T-shirt that said “Belize.” He works nights, but dodged the question of where. Over all the campground is sort of junky and run-down, but my spot is perfect; exactly what I was looking for.

It looks like strong surface winds and stronger winds aloft may keep us from flying again tomorrow. I should probably head out to the camp site and add myself to the ballast keeping my tent from blowing into the lake.