On the road again - part two

I'm at my new unit now and it couldn't have turned out better unless they released me. But first, the travel.

Again, I was handcuffed to another guy for the bus ride to Huntsville that began at 7:30 AM, had five other stops at various units and arrived at 2:30 PM. We exited the bus and entered one of three cages outside in the transit area. We received johnnies for our first meal since 3:30 that morning.

First I thought we were waiting to be housed overnight or for a few days, but then I noticed some guys getting back into busses or vans. I was standing next to the office and could look through a window at all the paperwork as it came in. I began looking for my name. After about an hour, a sheet arrived that had my name among six others. The top of the paper read "Leaving: Huntsville Unit. Transfer to: Estes Unit." Where is that? I asked around and found out that it is the unit outside Fort Worth that I had wanted to go to ever since I heard about it from a guy in my first chain bus. If I was going to be in prison, this is where I wanted to be, as close to home as I could get and a privately run minimum security prison.

Just from the ride there, I knew Estes was going to be good. Those that were coming with me got on a van with cloth seats. There were only six of us so we could stretch out. The two guards turned on the radio, played with their cell phones and joked around with us as we hit the road. Three hours of air-conditioned travel brought us to Venus, TX, at about 5 PM.

When we arrived, they had trays waiting for us with food far better than any TDC fare. We received three sets of clothing and a laundry bag. No more trading in clothes every day; these were ours until we left the unit or wore them out. I made a phone call home when I got to the dorm and surprised my folks with news that even I was a little shocked by. This spot is a huge blessing.