Houston to Grand Prairie (no extra 'e' on Grand) to Amarillo

June 8/9th

The Houston to Grand Prairie segment of the trip was mostly uneventful.  Michael traded his motorcycle for a truck (much more useful up here) and the shipping office was located in Grand Prairie, Texas.  We laughed because they most likely would be sending the truck back down to Houston before it headed to Alaska.  There was a bit of confusion beforehand because we visited the office that handles the household goods shipments at the end of April.  We were instructed where to go to ship the truck.  When I called a few weeks later to make sure I had all the necessary paperwork, I learned the contract had been awarded to another company, effective May 1st.  Then it was a bit of a scramble to figure out who the new company was and where they were located. 

Monday morning, June 9th, we washed the truck, in the rain, and dropped it off.  While Michael was handling all the paperwork for that, I stepped outside for a moment.  As I walked down the steps I suddenly realized that I was falling.  Unfortunately that realization came just as I hit the ground.  I am thankful that my wrist had been hurting from the packing and cleaning we did just before we left.  The wrist brace I was wearing took the brunt of the fall.  My left ankle was hurting and I wasn't sure if I could stand up.  I texted Michael and he came to the rescue.  Before he could get to me, two employees came out and helped me up.  It turned out that I had not sprained my ankle as I had originally thought, but I had scraped it up pretty badly.  

Once the truck was sorted out, we decided that it would be best to pick up another copy of the registration receipt in the event we needed it for border crossings.  We still don't know if the sticker on the window is the official registration or if the receipt is the official registration since commercial vehicles are the only vehicles required to keep the receipt in the vehicle.  Either way, we thought it would be a good idea to have a copy.  After waiting in the courthouse parking lot for over two hours, I was beginning to rethink our decision to pick up a copy.  Michael had gone inside and when he first picked up a number, his was in the 500s.  They were still working through the 300s at the time.  As people left, he noticed someone throw their number to the side and walk out.  He picked it up and moved up almost 70 places in line.  It took about two minutes and $2 at the window and he walked out with a copy of the receipt.

Finally, around 2pm we were on the road.  Until we got into Wichita Falls, Texas.... Michael noticed that he had been passing quite a few cars and asked me if I'd noticed a speed limit drop.  I told him I had not.  Just about that time, Michael noticed a police officer on a motorcycle turn his lights on and pull in behind us.  Apparently we'd missed several speed limit signs while we tried to figure out which road we needed to be on.  After being issued a ticket for speeding, we were on our way again. 

And that was only the beginning of the trip.

The rest of the day into Amarillo was uneventful.  Lady A became the official Speed Limit Checker and called out speed limits as we drove. She even had a whole list of items to check off.

It went like this:
Speed Limit Checker? Check.
Parents? Check.
Sisters? Check.
Truck? Check.
Everything we need in the truck? Check.

The list varied once in a while, but this was her usual list. Lady A enjoyed having a job to do and she did it with great enthusiasm.  

Up next: Amarillo, Texas to Cheyenne, Wyoming