RETURN TO PINEWILD 3

Abilene

We had stopped at Abilene on an earlier road trip, so this time we just waved and smiled at the memories of a fanciful town.

Dubbed as "Storybook Capital of America" due to Dr. Suess' character park, with sculptures of The Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, the Grinch, Horton the elephant, Yertle the Turtle, and Sam-I-Am from Green Eggs and Ham. The statues are mounted low to the ground so that kids can touch them.

This is what I wrote earlier of the Fancy in Abilene:

"Not a Dr. Seuss fan at all, in fact, I was turned off when I had to read his "Green Eggs and Ham" to the kids I was baby-sitting during my first complete summer in the States... "Green eggs"? I mean, what nonsense! But then something happened. My youngest loved Dr. Seuss; in fact, she has a collection of all his books, and I actually helped her  acquire them. So when I heard of the collection of Seuss character statues in Abilene—and since this town was going to be on our path—there was no reason not to go see them! 

Well, enough of something we didn't even see on this trip...

But it is a remarkable place and it deserved a virtual visit.

Soon after Abilene we saw a real spectacle: windmill blades being transported by a truck. What a view. 

I had no idea how gigantic the blades are/can be! Here's a picture that shows the dimensions compared to the people:

Another "spectacle" on the road: two cars upside down on the road. How does this happen? 

What a wonderful contrast awaited in Arlington (TX)—a reunion with my old BYU roommate—over 50 years ago! We knew of each other in Finland, but did not officilly meet till BYU. Those were the days... We both went by "Liisa," and sometimes that was a bit of a problem... I had written this masterful thesis on Kalevala and Longfellow's "Hiawatha" (and received A+++), but this other Liisa got all the accolades for it... Oh, well.

Anyway, we met for lunch at a restaurant that has the best tiramisu in the world... Thank you, Liisa!

There were several religious, spiritual road signs along the freeway, but I never had enough time to photograph them due to the engineer at the wheel... Some read "READ YOUR BIBLE" and "I'VE GOT YOUR BACK. GOD" and other similar ones. 

Other details included things such as forsaken small farms and gates to large ranches.

Photo: Brian Brown

This part of Texas is called "Texas Hill Country," a beautiful contrast to the oil industries' monochromatic landscapes.

And so, towards our goal this day we drove...