Friday, July 31, 2009

Day Two-Hundred One: Eastland, Texas

Sitting in my hotel in Eastland, Texas, listening to Dr. Horrible while watching the X-Games on ESPN.

(If that had been a Facebook status, both Dave and Tarvis would have "liked" it)

The last two guys to go in the BMX "Best Trick" competition have gotten pretty seriously hurt.

(If that had been a Facebook status, hopefully nobody would have "liked" it)

Located (naturally) in central Texas, Eastland has a population of around 4,000, and an area of 2.8 square miles, making it less than half the size of the small town I grew up in. Apparently it was a petroleum town back in the 1920s. Also, .05% of the population is Pacific Islander. Which is also, amazingly, half the rate of the town I grew up in! This is freaky! Finally, two native Eastlanders have their own Wikipedia pages, compared to--you guessed it--four from Wellington. (Chamber of Commerce? Nope, Wikipedia.) Clearly, however, the town's small size and population have not kept its tiny hotel (thirty rooms, tops) from getting good high-speed Internet, which is more than I can say for some larger places I have stayed in my touring career.

There are still Christmas lights up in the hotel lobby and around the car port. The sign on the front window says "Hunters! Welcome to Eastland!" The pool is 12' by 30', which is smaller than it sounds. However, there's a microwave and fridge in this room and something like 50 channels. All in all, I'm very impressed with the room and mildly amused by the hotel itself.

X-Games update: after the 2 guys got hurt, the next two did pretty basic, risk-free tricks. Go figure.

Tomorrow morning, getting up around seven to head to Lubbock so that hopefully I'll get there between 10 and 11 and catch most of the festival. Which reminds me, I have to double-check the schedule. I'll check in tomorrow to let you know how it goes, but don't expect too many details tomorrow, since it will probably be pretty late when I get in.

Until then, everybody enjoy your Saturday!