So I originally had this awesome post all typed up and ready to go, but my phone got into a fight with a gps satellite and lost, and the post went with it.

Last update, we stopped for beer in Texarkana and were en route to Dallas/Fort Worth. Somewhere around Mt.Pleasant,TX we encountered a problem. The “service engine” light popped on. Now, we were stumped as to what it might be, as the oil had been freshly changed just before we left Blacksburg. Luckily, I have a AAA membership, thanks to my grandparents. Unfortunately, the non-emergency number connected back in Fredericksburg,VA. The lady I spoke to was quite polite and helpful, but evidently was hard pressed to find a mechanic in Mt. Pleasant. Three names and numbers we’re given, resulting in two answering machines, and one “number disconnected” message. What the lady had not found was, ironically, the AAA endorsed mechanics shop 5 minutes off the interstate. Even better, they were open til 6, and it was only 5:45! They were willing to help us out, and a few minutes with the diagnostic tool told us what we had both hoped for and feared: no major problems. We were struck by a mixture of regret and relief. Regret that we had to pay a mechanic $60 for a 5 min diagnostic, and relief that we could be back on the road quickly.

A few more hours on the road, and we rolled into Keller, TX, a suburb of Dallas/Ft.Worth, werein we had a truly excellent dinner with Tigeris’ grandmother and got to sleep in real beds! Maybe next post I will go into our experiences prior to starting this blog, namely the Blacksburg-Memphis leg of our journey. I also plan on posting reviews of all the places we eat on the road. Right now, however, we are going to the apparently much-anticipated Central Market.