The Long Road Home

Before starting the long road back to Austin, I met up with Steve and Arlene Griffis at Bread & Breakfast to talk about the upcoming Way Out West Texas Book Festival, which I regretfully had to pass on, because it’s the same weekend as Lydia’s wedding (Aug. 9). But we talked and talked and are cooking up a partnership for 2009 — I’m going to try to schedule the Summer Writing Academy to lead in to the WOW Festival, and that way we can share a bigger-name author or two! After breakfast, we went to Front Street Books, where I finally got to meet owner Jean Hardy, whom I immediately took a liking to! She had not known about the Writing Academy (yikes!) and said she would have been happy to host a reading by the instructor/authors! One more thing to work on for next year…

Then it was time to bid adios to Alpine and head back home. I went through Marathon this time, but didn’t stop. Steve and Arlene live there and have offered their guest house for me any time! Yay! I’ll definitely be ready to go back!

Fortunately, the looooong drive home coincided with the book I was listening to, The Last Girls, by Lee Smith — I started it shortly outside of Austin on the way up and it ended right around Dripping Springs on the return trip!

#13: My First Trip to West Texas

Here I sit, on the porch of the Austin Street Café in Marfa, a soft easy breeze blowing napkins off tables, birds chirping, and the threesome at the next table expounding on the merits of Italian sportscars! The Presidio County Courthouse is spectacular, but I cannot find the fabled Marfa galleries and shops. Maybe it’s the Sunday sleepiness.

I fully expected to be more charmed by Marfa, but so far, Alpine scores higher on the charm scale. Nonetheless, I love being in West Texas; it’s so similar to New Mexico and even Sun Valley. The Austin Street Café’s veggie wrap with black-eyed peas and a superb tomato-basil soup –– well, those hit the mark and made the short drive worthwhile.

My whole excuse for being in West Texas is the Writers’ League’s Summer Writing Academy at Sul Ross State