Apr 13 Albuqurque to Lubbock TX

Yesterday my JetBlue flight went without a hitch. I did not expect a long layover in NYC, but it was a good chance to get started on the Mosher book "Disappearances". Got 2/3rds of the way through it.
Arrived in Albuquerque around 11pm Mountain Time and shared a taxi with a native NM guy coming back from 6 months in Portugal. Jake was up and we had tea and talked for a long time before he once again gave the old man his bed and he took the really comfy foldout couch.
I looked for the street address of the Toyota plant in Austin and discovered the plant is not in Austin but rather in San Antonio, which added another 150 miles or so. So I decided to skip the Toyota tour and instead just take it easy and poke around West Texas.
So leisurely breakfast at Eli's as recommended by his roommate Claire. Turned out to be a hole in the wall that was featured on a TV show (Diners Drive-ins and Dives) and it was a tribute to get a simple formula down, do it really well and don't fancy the place up too much. There is something homey about a place that does't fake stuff up and there are some well worn but loved accouterments.
I dropped Jacob off at Deep Space 9 (Physics building) and hit the road. The beemer was running really smooth, as always, so I jumped on 25 north and then 40 east where I spent a good part of the day. I never used to like interstates and I guess I still don't, but out here there is not a lot too look at, or maybe it's that there is a lot to think about.
And the most interesting people go by (remember, I drive pretty slow  so most drive by). Lots of trucks and business travelers and the occasional refugees, loaded up in their old beaters with everything they own, heading for somewhere new, new beginnings I imagine, excitement and fear.
Now New Mexico is a pretty big state and as the signs on rt40 go by, I keep thinking the next town is in Texas, but alas, it's still NM.
I stopped and called the BMW shop in ABQ to get it in next week for valves (it's getting "chatty"), and got the answering machine. They did call me back later with an estimate. Nothing like interstate phone tag on a motorcycle, and no, I do not talk on my phone on the bike.
I couldn't find the iPod so I tried something new, Pandora on my iPhone. Works pretty well, and it hardly uses much service so maybe once again, a mistake forces a discovery. That what my R and D work life has been, mistakes and discoveries. Love it.
I finally did get to the Texas border and I gotta say, not much out here. I made a couple coffee stops and finally did get the BMW guys and they can work on the bike next week. In Lubbock, I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch where the guy buried Cadillac's nose first in the sand and he had what looked to be a Muffler Man, so that would have to make up for the Toyota plant tour. My clocks all read something different but I finally figured out, if I pushed until sunset, I could make it to Lubbock. Amarillo is not much to look at so I'll go for it. Empty smooth road all the way to Lubbock and I even called ahead for a motel (I can too plan!!). Got in just as the sun was setting and it would have been pretty, but there is nothing but power lines to look through to see it.
Long walk in the warm (70's) air, light dinner, cold beer and then hit the hay. No idea where I go tomorrow..
440 miles today