Yesterday, I had to leave the castle to attend a mediation in Austin, TX. For me, Austin is one of those locations that is a coin toss as to whether I fly or drive. With airport security and my aversion to missing flights, travel time works out about the same. Cost-wise, it's cheaper to drive than fly right now. That doesn't concern me terribly much when the company is picking up the tab, but I do try to be a good corporate citizen and save the company a dollar or two when I can in the hopes that it will have some small impact on the company's bottom line which will, in turn, be passed on to consumers in some minuscule way. Yeah, I know. I am frightfully optimistic sometimes.
Anyway, I rented a snazzy little Ford Focus from Enterprise for the drive there and back. Here again, it's cheaper to rent a car for two days than to get reimbursed at $0.50/per mile for a 400 mile round trip. See? I'm such a thoughtful guy. Let's not forget that renting saves wear and tear on my already worn out vehicles (like the 2000 Nissan Maxima with 300,000+ miles on it which hasn't passed inspection since 2004 'cause the mechanic is clueless). Later, I'm going to write up a review of the Focus just for giggles. Who knows. Maybe Ford will spot it and offer me a gig writing reviews of their other products...like the Mustang...yeah, that's the ticket. I know. I'm digressing something fierce this morning. Blame on yesterday's 5:00 AM wake up call and spending 7 hours +/- in an "intermediate" sized car. More on that later.
Alright, here's the point of this little stroll through the meandering paths of my worn out brain, I saw a billboard on the way to Austin that would catch most men's eyes. It was a mostly white billboard with a torso shot of a female in a bikini top and jean shorts. The billboard said "The Bikini Stop" and, in bright yellow, "Free Beer".
Hmmmm....bikinis and free beer. I'm guessing this place is a bar of kind, and it sounds like it would be a popular place especially given its location in the middle of nowhere (actually between Waco and West) on I-35 which, thanks to NAFTA, is the main highway bringing stuff north out of Mexico.
When I passed this place on my way south early yesterday morning, there was a distinct lack of activity at The Bikini Stop. As one would expect at 6:30 in the morning. However, I made a mental note to see how poopular a place it was on my way back home.
When I rolled back through that area at around 7:00 last evening, there was not a single solitary vehicle in that parking lot. ???? You'd think the parking lot would be full of big rigs and duallies. I guess bikinis and beer don't draw the rednecks and truckers like they used to. I didn't have time to investigate further as I had to meet mom for dinner and get the Focus back to Enterprise before it turned into an extra day rental charge pumpkin.
Next time, I'll try to remember to take the camera with me and get photos for posterity.
Maybe the truckers have learned a thing or two about this place? There is a place similar to this on I-75 South to Orlando....the billboard says "Couples Welcome". Can't say that I've ever turned to my spouse and said, "You wanna?"
ReplyDeleteOne would certainly think that the Bikini Spot would be more than a little busy!
ReplyDeleteMel, they have places like that in Dallas, too. Back in the day when I was younger and not nearly as wise, I went to one with friends...let's just say the couples that go to those places are some scary lookin' folk. It does make for an interesting people watching experience though.
ReplyDeleteGunDiva, that was my thought exactly. Perhaps they just opened and word hasn't spread on the CB yet.