Somewhere Between Luckenbach and Landslide
A trunk full of old things, one very long drive, and why I was moving furniture at midnight.
There’s a very specific kind of childhood memory that starts with a Sharpie-labeled CD and a parent looking at you in the rearview mirror to ask,
“Do you know who sings this one?”
We’d be halfway to nowhere, somewhere between “Luckenbach” and “Landslide,” and suddenly the destination didn’t matter. The drive was the whole point. I think that’s where I learned that the “in-between” is usually where the actual life happens.
I ended up marrying a man who treats a playlist like a love language. It’s our slightly unhinged solution for when the world gets heavy. We just put on the right song and drive until the air feels lighter.
Hudson asked to go see his great-grandma. Seven years old, completely unprompted.
So, we just went.
The morning started with a heartbreak: my favorite coffee spot in Dripping Springs was closed. If you know me, you know that’s a genuine tragedy. But we pivoted. We grabbed a bag of Austin Pretzel Co. (now a non-negotiable road trip staple) and a cup of Buc-ee’s coffee that tasted exactly like 7:00 AM on a Saturday.
We had Harry Nilsson on the speakers before we even hit the highway.
Everybody’s Talkin’, Harry Nilsson
Time In A Bottle, Jim Croce
Always Somewhere, Scorpions
Human, Brandi Carlile
What Are You Listening To, Chris Stapleton
Lost Highway, Kacey Musgraves
Going to California, Led Zeppelin
A long stretch of highway. A trunk full of things with a past life. Coming home completely wrecked and already wanting to do it again.
I pulled into the driveway with a vintage haul and a singular, intense urge to rearrange the house. It’s a sickness, really. That specific brand of exhaustion that feels exactly like inspiration. If you know, you know. And if you’re here, you probably know.
But because I know you weren’t all road-tripping through East Texas with me, I spent Monday sourcing the near-identical versions online.
My online thrifting system is pretty simple, but it’s taken me a decade of trial and error to actually trust it. It really just comes down to this...