We departed Austin on Monday morning and stopped in San Antonio to check out the Alamo. I was actually a little disappointed by it, it’s right in the middle of downtown near the Ripley’s Believe it or Not and a Fuddrucker’s. That kind of took away from the experience. And it was much smaller than I expected! It was similar to when I saw the Mona Lisa for the first time and couldn’t believe how tiny it was when you’re expecting this great masterpiece. Afterwards we walked along their famous Riverwalk and that was pretty nice. Supposedly, Richmond aspired to make the Canal Walk downtown similar to San Antonio’s Riverwalk and I’m here to tell you, there’s a long way to go Richmond. The Riverwalk was really vibrant, full or tourists and locals, and it was just really beautifully maintained. We had lunch at Boudro’s where (prepare yourself) I ate a SALAD! That’s right. I’m working on reconciling with my body after I’ve treated it so badly with greasy goodness. Boudro’s was great though, Roy had a crab tostada and of course he ate every last speck of food on that plate.
After SA, we took a “little” detour to McAllen, TX, along the Mexican border, to visit Roy’s friend Victoria. She’s doing Teach for America down there, and even though it wasn’t along the direct route to CA, it’s not really going out of the way when you get to visit a good friend. She and her roommate Pam were such great hosts and it was a nice break from highway hotel chains. Victoria and her boyfriend Carl made us homemade pesto veggie pizza and salad and then we hung out and watched the Olympics. Roy made McAllen sound like some desolate rural town with tumbleweed rolling by, but it was actually very developed and surprisingly busy. In fact, we experienced our first traffic jam of the trip when we arrived in the middle of rush hour. They do have a bit of a crime problem though, as someone in Victoria’s gated apartment complex stole a pitcher or sun tea that she set outside. I thought that was hilarious, though it did put a dent in my road trip iced tea consumption. Really though, who steals a pitcher of iced tea?!
We woke up bright and early today so we could check out the morning assembly at the school where Victoria teaches. Gosh I missed being a kid after seeing all those cute and energetic kiddos clapping and singing and pledging themselves to the State of Texas. They had really cute uniforms too, each grade was a different brightly colored polo and lots of the little girls had matching hair accessories, so precious! We picked up some breakfast tacos at a gas station, as the locals do, and I was surprised by the 99 cent deliciousness. Afterwards we hopped in the car and drove to Mexico! Ok, actually we parked the car and walked across the Rio Grande on this little bridge. You pay 25 cents, walk through a turnstile and boom, you’re in Mexico! That’s the cheapest international fare I’ve ever paid. We just wandered around and checked out cheap Mexican goods like leather, liquor, and bootleg DVD’s. There were lots of medical and dental clinics because I guess Americans cross the border for cheap medicine and treatment. Lots of people offered me teeth whitening services and then I became self conscious about my sugary tea consumption. Anyhow, we didn’t stay long because Roy and I needed to get back on the road so we paid 35 cents, walked through another turnstile, showed our passports to the border patrol, and walked right back into the US. It was easy peasy!
So now we’re back in the car, doing a very long haul to Carlsbad, NM. I haven’t been in the Land of Enchantment since we lived in Albuquerque many years ago so I’m especially excited about this leg of the journey. And, the trip is winding down so I can look forward to escaping the highways in a few days. I have to admit, I’m a bit tired of Texas and its long, flat roads. I’m ready for new landscapes and cooler weather, though I know that is all wishful thinking. Really, who picks the deep south route in the middle of August?! Gotta love that little bro of mine.
Road Trip by the numbers:
Miles Travelled: 2300+
States seen in the license plate game: 45 (plus a bunch from Mexico and Canada)
Glasses of sweet tea: 7
Arteries blocked: 4
This is how I feel about driving through Texas. Notice how Roy feels about driving through Texas!
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