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Memories
Day Thirty-Two – March 20, 2010
I woke at 7:00 AM to the sound of heavy rain and small hail beating down on my truck. San Antonio was experiencing a severe thunderstorm as a cold front moved through the area. Luckily, there was no hail damage to my vehicle. It was the first day of spring.
I didn’t know if it was the rain, the warmer temperatures, or the fact that I was exhausted from the long drive the day before, but I slept comfortably in the back of my truck for the first time.
I started the day with four things on my agenda:
- an oil change,
- having my tires checked,
- a workout at the gym, and
- moving my camp to Austin.
By the end of the day, I had only accomplished a workout at the gym. It was one of those days, but if I had learned anything from this journey, it was how to deal with adversity and change.
I had driven an hour north to Austin, and when I called the KOA to book a campsite, I was told that the low temperature was expected to drop to 31 degrees and the winds were expected to gust to 24mph. When I tried to find a hotel room, everything was booked because of the South by Southwest Music Festival that was in town. So, I had to drive an hour back to San Antonio, where I got a handicap room in a Motel 6.
While trying to find a hotel room in Austin, I realized my budget was way off. I hadn’t budgeted for so many hotel rooms. I thought that after Palm Springs, I would have been able to camp out most of my trip, but the unseasonably cold weather kept me indoors most of the way. Before starting this journey, I knew I would have to face difficult choices along the way, so I was somewhat prepared. I didn’t expect my funds to begin to run out so quickly. So, I had to sit down and make a tough decision.
Choice number one was to drive to North Carolina over the next three days as quickly as possible, stay with family, and look for a job in the North Carolina, Virginia, area. This choice would mean that my journey would end at the midway point, on Day 36. I could continue the trip another time, but it wouldn’t be much of a journey if I did that.
Choice number two was to drive as quickly as possible back to Portland, continue to live in the back of my truck, and try to see my journey through until the very end in the Pacific Northwest. I knew enough people in Portland that I would feel very comfortable living in my truck until I could find a job.
My final choice was to keep my faith, see my journey until the very end, and possibly go into debt with my credit card for the first time in my life. I gave myself the next twenty-four hours to make my final decision.