Miles and Miles of Texas

Enjoying a Lone Star at the Continental Club in Austin

A little Western Swing

Club dog

Texas State Capitol in Austin

The Dome

Enjoying the view

Terrazzo floor

Charlie's park in San Antonio

Riverwalk

The Alamo

Dinner on the Riverwalk

Cathedral of San Fernando in the main plaza

Bluebonnets

G.O's Barbershop- Hondo

Father and son barbers and the best haircut ever 

Part 2 of our trip.

We did not get enough time in Austin or San Antonio, both really fun cities with so much to see. It's just that this state is so darn big and we have places to be. 

When we crossed the border into Texas we saw a sign that said 880 miles to El Paso. We also were trying to get out of the torrential rains and flooding in Mississippi and Louisiana. We see from the news that some of the places we had been are now flooded. We could feel the storm brewing on our last day in New Orleans and while we drove through some bad rain we were pretty lucky. There are warning signs on the highway that say "When Flooded, Turn Around, Don't Drown." Also saw a sign at the Texas Welcome Center advising us to "Watch for Snakes." Yikes!!

In Austin, we had lunch with Mike's cousin Scott. Ate some Tex Mex and caught up. It had been over 20 years since we've seen him. (I didn't get a picture, darn it- but we won't let 20 more years pass.) We listened to some live music at the Continental Club on South Congress- a classic old music venue.  Saw the capitol building- maybe the most beautiful one yet. We would've liked to stay a little longer but SXSW was starting the next day and the hotels are booked solid for the next two weeks so we moved on to San Antonio.

In San Antonio we saw the Alamo and had nice dinner on the Riverwalk. Again wished we had more time but we're anxious to move west on to the mountains and Big Bend National Park.

Yesterday we drove to the border town of Del Rio on the Rio Grande for the night. We took a secondary road across through a bunch of small towns and a lot of wide open spaces. It's really beautiful country and we could see the last of the thunderstorms from miles away. Mike got a haircut for $8 in a tiny town (I think one of his best haircuts ever.) Ate some homemade tortillas, beans and rice at a tiny diner called Miguel's County Kitchen.

Today we head to Big Bend National Park-- 255 miles west-- a big drive for us. The road we take skirts the Rio Grande. We get to stop in Langtry and see the Judge Roy Bean's old place and museum.

From Mike- The birds are singing, the air is thick with the smell of bluebonnets, roasting red peppers, and fresh-fried doughnuts.  Time to roll.