So - this is where we spent our Memorial Day holiday - in the Texas Hill Country, between Austin and San Antonio. We camped out on the Guadeloupe River with friends, and watched a few thousand drunks float down the river in tubes, dragging their coolers and boom-boxes behind them. Right now, the river is low, as Texas is in the middle of a hellacious drought, and they are taking advantage of the low water levels to work on the dam that controls the flow of water in this stretch of the Guadeloupe. So, there are stretches of the river that are too low for floating, and this is one of them. Tubers have to get out and drag their stuff over the rocks to the next long pool of water - repeating the process over and over again. And since the only liquid they tend to bring on the river is beer or wine - and since it's hotter than blazes - they tend to get drunker and drunker the further they go down the river. Before long, they start shedding unnecessary baggage - hats, shoes, their cigarettes, cameras, jewelry.. Eventually they are unable to even gather up the beer that falls out of the cooler as they stagger downstream. And apparently when people get drunk, they decide that walking is better than riding, and stumble in thigh-high water, falling this way, then that, on the rough, uneven rocks on the bottom. It reminded me of the settlers trudging across the prairies - starting off with such high expectations of adventure - and coming face to face with reality. They would start off with prized pianos and chests - all the things they thought would be beautiful in their new home in California. Then as the trail got harder and hotter, they would be forced to abandon their most treasured possessions along the trail, and eventually stumble into 'civilization' with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and a "what the hell was *I* thinking?" look on their faces...

2006 Jaguar XKR Victory Edition Color: Copper Black Engine: 4.2 Liter DOHC 32 valve V8 w/ Eaton supercharger and twin air to liquid inter-coolers Brakes: 4 X Brembo 4 piston caliper on cross-drilled vented disks Headlamps: Xenon HID Tires: Pirelli P-zero Horseposer: 390 @ 3500RPM Torque: 399 FtLb @ 3500RPM Top Speed (electronically limited): 155 MPH 0-60MPH: 5.2 sec