Last Location: Tucson, Arizona
Arrival Date: February 14, 2008
Departure Date: February 23, 2008
Current location: Austin, Texas
Arrival Date: February 23, 2008
Departure Date: March 4, 2008
Next stop: El Paso, Texas
So the journey looks like it is far from over. Jon and I arrived in Tucson just over two weeks ago to visit family and friends for a few days and to pick up a few th¬¬ings to bring back to Utah. Now we are in Texas campaigning for Barack Obama (you GOPers can think of it as campaigning against Mrs. Clinton if you prefer.) We have been here for just about ten days, gearing up for the Election Day that is now upon us. The campaign hooked us up with amazing supporter housing. Our hosts are wonderful in so many ways. And they have a precious 17-year-old cat named Bandit who I love dearly.
It is a lot of fun here. Texas is excited to be playing a pivotal role in a primary election for the first time in 20 years. Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton have all been here to speak in the last few days. I will be posting pictures up on my Picasa page shortly.
Austin has a great vegetarian scene and its own awesome vegan bakery complete with dairy-free oat ice cream, mocha "cheese"cake and tiramisu cupcakes.
The weather has been gorgeous. On our first week here we were greeted by sunny days with highs in the 70s and 80s. Yesterday it cooled down a bit. People here refer to weather in the 60s as a "cold front".
What they say is true; everything is bigger here. The Whole Foods is the size of a shopping mall, the parking spots are twice as wide as those in DC and the freeways never end. The political system is seemingly bigger too, and a bit complicated. Instead of voting once in the primaries or attending a caucus, Texans must both vote in the primary and caucus to utilize their total vote. We have been going door to door to explain the system to voters in hopes of gaining a significant caucus turnout.
After the excitement here subsides we will head to Hueco Tanks, an area just north of El Paso so that Jon can do some rock climbing. Then back to Tucson to drop off the Prius and head back up to Salt Lake City by way of Breckenridge, Colorado to visit and ski with some of Jon’s friends there.
More adventures to come.
Love,
Melissa
