A few months ago, I started a field technician job which requires me to drive around the great state of Texas.  Of course, while on the highways, byways, and backways of the Lone Star State, I noticed a few things:

1. My company car is a Chevy Equinox which is a boat compared to my Honda CR-V
   

   #7 My road! (sort of)

2. I have dubbed my company car: “The Leviathan.”
3. I do like that The Leviathan has a BRAAP horn as opposed to the CR-V’s meep.
4. That moment when you’re happy to be back on a properly paved road
5. …with a middle stripe.
6. Whenever I see a Choke Canyon BBQ or gas station I’ll always think: “Hey it’s those guys who tried to rip off Buc-ees”
7. I vaguely remembered a ‘Solis Road’ as a child and found it.  Of course, I had to take a selfie.
8. Rio Grande Valley radio sucks.
9. Rio Grande Valley drivers suck.
10. “Next services 45 miles” means it’s time for a restroom break.
11. It’s always funny to see the road literally change from one county to another.
12. See also: county deputies waiting for speeders.
13. Dear GPS: Unless there is a significant delay, clam up and let me stay on the route I’m on.
14. Company-issued iPhone meant that I got to rediscover how lousy Apple Maps is.
15. What is it with small towns and Y intersections just outside of them?
16. Note to self: ALWAYS check how much range your gas tank has left before leaving a small town out in the middle of nowhere.
17. I always think: “Warp speed, Mr Sulu!” whenever I see that first 55 MPH sign outside of a small town.
18. This beats being in a crappy open plan office while the fluorescent lights suck the life out of me: I’m on my own, I get to listen to music, and the company pays for gas, room, and hotels.
19. Gas plumes from oil drilling operations look eerie at night.
20. If you need super-bright LED headlights, maybe your blind tail shouldn’t be driving at night
21. See also: Fog lights the size of headlights.
22. You know a town is really small when they don’t even have a Dairy Queen
23. I’m not sure I want to go to a restaurant who’s slogan is: Put some South in your Mouth
24. The road is a good place to charge your smartwatch.
25. Fueling up in a small town makes one appreciate the city, especially given that the gas is 50 cents less expensive a gallon there.
26. Granted I’m not paying, but still.
27. Remote start is awesome, makes me feel all Knight Rider and stuff.
28. It would be even more awesome if I didn’t always get inside the Leviathan just before the engine cuts out.
29. Where’s the KITT personal assistant?
30. Construction, just the thing to make I-10 north of San Antonio worse.
31. Funny how in small towns there are nearly always signs directing you to the football stadium and cemetery.
32. I kinda get the whole ‘put a cross on the top of a hill’ thing but I kinda don’t.
33. Nothing like passing the Whataburger you had breakfast at 14 hours earlier on your way home.
34. Getting on the road early means seeing some of the wildlife out and about, particularly deer.
35. Saw a gas station that was converted into a computer repair shop. At least it wasn’t a liquor store.
36. That moment when your GPS reads: “230 miles remaining.”
37. Nothing like doing a hasty 180 because you passed the one gas station in a town out in the middle of nowhere.
38. Sampling the local flavor can be a mite harder on Sunday.
39. If you could display state lines more prominently, Google Maps, that would be greaaat.
40. You know you’re in a small county when the county road names consist of single letters.
41. My company and personal phones are on different providers. Few things make the hair on the back of my neck stand up like losing signal on BOTH of them.
42. God Bless Dairy Queen!