Austin my home from home

14H36 28th August 2007 Fort Worth

Well the afternoon has arrived. I walked the dog, picked up its poop 'twice' and then went for a swim. I have spent the afternoon tracking my route across the states and cities visited. Twenty two states crossed and lived in thirteen different cities and towns. Three thousand six hundred pictures taken. Nine thousand seven hundred and seventy five miles traveled (as the crow flies).

13H08 Wednesday 29th August 2007Amtrak train station Fort Worth Texas;

Well I am on the move again, this time 5 hours to Austin, Texas and at least two days sleep. It has been a whirlwind trip and awesome adventure. I have a lot of work to get through and am eagerly looking forward to getting started. Pleased to see Andrew this evening and I need to call him to give me a lift home. It will be nice to settle into a routine again. Exercise, work adn swimming is on the agenda. I would like to look for a bicycle either second hand for here or new to take home. I really dont have much to write about or say. I said goodbye to the kids as they woke up his morning so they were still fast asleep. I hope they help their mom as she is taking srain with all her reponsibilities and tasks to get done. Life has a way of pushing the envelope when you least expect it. They will survive, of that I have no doubt. Kristian wants me to take some pictures for him of his family as and when I get the chance. Unfortunately I am on my way out and will not get back this way for at least a year. I am on my way home to get organisd and arrange for Nicole to come over with me next time. I realy dont know what has happened that side but I have not heard a word since leaving except for two requests for money, within the first two weeks of leaving. I set up email arrangements with her before leaving and showed her exactly what to do. I gave her three addresses to email to in order to get hold of me and communicate. Unfortunately for whatever reason she has not contacted me. I am truly at a loss as what to do and all I can do is hope that one day she will treat me a at the very least as a friend. Only time will tell.

14H30 Amtrak train boarding.

Just got on and had my ticket checked in a very casual manner. Train pulling out right now and well I smile as I wave goodbye to Fort Worth. It has been really great and met some really nice people and had some very special time with Shara and her family. They are going through all the safety announcements and similar stuff. The train is really empty, I am quite surprised. The cops picked me up in Fort Worth this morning for taking pictures of the tall city centre buildings. I am not allowed to take pictures of the building excepting from the pavement. That is public property. It really doesn't make a difference, excepting that the angles and pictures from right up against the glass are generally far better and more interesting that from the pavement. So the cops came around and asked for all my personal details and accepted my explanation for taking the pictures. I fully understand that after 911 they are pretty nervous of people interested in the two tallest and almost identical buildings in Fort Worth. So I wandered around and bought a Starbucks and some chewing gum and then sat in thepark to enjoy the coffee and a smoke. A young girl approached me for a light and she was homeless as she had been evicted from her apartment after her boyfriend went a bit crazy. Her father is in Louissiana working and she has to wait untill October before he returns home before she can move in with him again. She is hoping to study next year but is unsure what she is going to study as the Pharmacuietical technicians course needs a certain number of credits to start.

They grow up tougher and younger here than back home. But saying that there is always two sides to the coin and the number of spoilt kids is just as great. Well power running low so i am going to call it quits. Chat later.