Roadtrip to Austin, Day 4

by on November 15, 2010

The fourth and final day of my trip – I am in Austin. I am home.

I was excited to get on the road and make my way to the Lone Star State, and to put an end to the many hours of driving with two smelly dogs.

Yesterday, I drove about 325 miles from Bossier City, LA to Austin, TX.

I was out of Louisiana pretty quick, and cut into a truck stop in Texas to gas up. It was a bit nicer looking than the spots I am used to in New Jersey.

There was an impressive food selection in this place. Granted, I’m used to having a choice of Roy Rogers, Nathan’s, and TCBY.

The core of the stop is Texas Best Smokehouse (read reviews of this truck stop on Yelp), plus they have all of the other things you see at a truck stop – souvenirs, convenience store, etc.

In the event you couldn’t find something to eat inside or didn’t want to leave the car, they had the option to order from Sonic while pumping your gas.

I spent most of the remainder of the drive trying to find the Jets/Browns pre-game and game on the radio, but never did get it.

So, I had to settle for the Texans/Jaguars game, which wasn’t so bad, since I have Maurice Jones-Drew in fantasy football, and he had a big day.

And I had to continually refresh my Blackberry to stay on top of the Jets big OT win.

I arrived in Austin in the mid-afternoon, and checked in with my dogs to a hotel for a couple nights, as I wait for my family and the movers to get here.

Time to head out and start getting things for the new house. Good thing I have my GPS, because I have no idea where I am, but I know it’s home.

States visited on day 4: Louisiana and Texas

You can see my FourSquare stops along the way at http://foursquare.com/affiliatetip/history.

{ 18 comments }

Shawn Collins November 17, 2010 at 3:13 pm

Thanks Peter – no driving to Vegas for me. My roadtrips are done for the time being – back to the planes!

Peter Koning November 17, 2010 at 2:32 pm

Nice posts – loved the Sonic gas menu.

Good luck in your new home Shawn.

For #ASW11 are you gonna drive to Vegas? :)

Cheers.

Shawn Collins November 16, 2010 at 10:48 pm

Thanks Liz – now if all these boxes could magically put themselves away, it would be just wonderful.

Shawn Collins November 16, 2010 at 10:47 pm

Thanks a lot – those are a bunch of the reasons I wanted to move here. Lack of personal income tax doesn’t hurt.

Shawn Collins November 16, 2010 at 10:46 pm

I think we’re lost causes at this point.

Shawn Collins November 16, 2010 at 10:46 pm

Thanks, I need all the tips! Let me know when you’re going to hit town next.

Phillip November 16, 2010 at 7:11 pm

Glad you made the move Shawn, you will love it in Austin! I miss Texas a lot and hope to be back someday soon. Let me know if you need any tips on anything, I have been visiting Austin and friends / family there my entire life.

Phillip Kidwell
Director, Biz Dev
eHealth, Inc.

Erik Hom November 16, 2010 at 1:52 pm

Maybe you can start a voice blog. Austin is pretty different from the rest of Texas, but maybe each person in your family can develop a video log by speaking into a mic and saying cawfee, dawg and hello every day until you are all saying joe, hound and howdy. The conversion from Jerzey speak to Texas talk.

Tom Wozniak November 16, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Hey Shawn – Congrats on the big move! Austin is a great town. I’ve only had the pleasure of visiting once, but had a blast. Lot’s of great music, Texas BBQ, and just an overall great lifestyle. I’m sure you and your family will love it.

Liz Marshall November 16, 2010 at 11:51 am

Welcome home Shawn. Your license plate is super. “I have no idea where I am, but I know it’s home” sounds like a great slogan for somebody.

Shawn Collins November 15, 2010 at 4:27 pm

Thanks a lot, Anita

Anita York November 15, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Great posts Shawn. Congrats on your new home. @JimKrukal I’ve been following Nicolas Rapp’s blog who’s DRIVING around the world in a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s really fascinating and a great way to see the world vicariously. Plus see off the beaten path things you’d never see otherwise. He left Brooklyn a year ago and is now in Malaysia. You can check him out at: http://transworldexpedition.com

Shawn Collins November 15, 2010 at 11:30 am

Thanks Steve – any plans to hit SXSW next year?

Steve Hall November 15, 2010 at 11:26 am

Welcome home, Shawn!

Shawn Collins November 15, 2010 at 11:03 am

Thanks Mark – I learned something very important yesterday. Apparently, a crowd of Jets fans got http://www.cedardooraustin.com/ for games. :)

Shawn Collins November 15, 2010 at 11:01 am

Thanks – I wish I would have taken more pictures and made more stops.

Mark Soberman November 15, 2010 at 10:56 am

Welcome to Austin. I did something similar about a month ago – as a family we relocated from California to Austin — and several things along the way were quite similar in experience. Thanks for sharing. Oh, and Go J-E-T-S JETS :)

Jim Kukral November 15, 2010 at 10:38 am

Really enjoyed this on the road blogging series. Felt like I was there driving with you. Would be a great blog, to follow someone on the road.

Comments on this entry are closed.