It's been a while since I've posted. We are moving in July or early August. We decided to move to a tiny town in West Texas. It's close enough to work on the property at the Ranch and besides, it's a great little town. We have met some great people there and made friends already. Also, I start working from home in mid-July, so I can continue that work after we get there.

Recently, I rode Amtrak from across the state. It was a wonderful trip. I rode coach. I haven't done that before as we've only been in sleeper cars, which on Amtrak is considered first class. (In fact, my blog photo was taken in an Amtrak sleeper car.) The ticket was only $75, which is much cheaper than driving. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the coach car I traveled in was not crowded at all. In fact, I had two seats to myself so I was quite comfortable. The other coach cars were very crowded and loud, too, so I was lucky. While on the train, I had dinner with a lovely family from the area. They were on a cross-country trip, this beautiful couple and darling son. Anyway, a lively discussion with the family made me realize that I'm not quite ready to be so isolated. I've missed connecting with people. They were so sweet and welcoming and had to rearrange a bit to let me into their booth. David is discovering that there is telecom work to be done in the area, so he will continue instead of starting something new. Also, another new friend is searching for a rental for us. I will be doing the part-time work and hopefully, another job in the works will pan out. I am very excited about this other job but I can't go into any details yet. We haven't said a definite "no" yet to the restaurant, but it just doesn't feel right. There is too much unknown for us to be comfortable with it, even though I think it would be lots of fun (hard work, too) to make it work.

During the train trip, I saw a mountain lion sauntering across the highway. Too bad I didn't have the digital camera. We were moving very slowly together, the train and the lion, and it was a perfect photo op. For the people around the Big Bend area, I'm sure that mountain lion sightings are quite common. But having lived only as far west as Abilene, they have been quite rare for me. I was surprised as, in the past, I've only glimped a tail shooting into the brush or a very quick look, only to be left wondering if I actually saw one.

There was an older lady in coach near me who felt the need to loudly speak on her cell phone about "horrid Texas" and I had to bite my tongue. She made multiple phone calls to several family members, repeating the same complaints and tirades over and over. Anyone who knows me knows that I am fiercely proud of my heritage and my home state. When I first got on the train, I asked if she would mind if I opened the window curtains a few seats ahead of her. She had her curtains open, so I was sure she wouldn't mind. She informed me that the area is so ugly, she couldn't imagine what I would want to see. She talked well into the night, keeping everyone in the car awake. Everytime I managed to doze off, she made another phone call. She must have cell phone service on steroids because she had service where I couldn't get even one bar on my signal indicator. She snagged the only outlet for plugging in a charger, too. Unfortunately, she was on the train during my entire trip as she was making her way to her home in Beaumont. She is originally from Arizona. I had the fight the urge to tell her to just go back home. To Arizona, that is.

It was good to get back home. I've been home since, as gas is too expensive for me to justify another road trip right now. Without going into too much detail, we've had a few health scares in the extended family, but everyone is doing well now.