Here we are, east Texas....land of green pastures, big cows, sweet tea, Spanish moss, and a whole different kind of "rural" than we've had in the last month.
Neither of us wanted to leave San Antonio, but overnight the weather took a turn for the worse, which made me decide to forgo the icky 80 mile ride on the highway sideroad and instead hop a bus up to Austin. Unfortunately Dot no longer has this luxury and she had to scooter there herself. Luckily our Couchsurfing host in Austin (Katie) was AWESOME and greeted us with coffee and pancakes...we were enamored from the get-go! Because the weather continued to spiral downward (30 degree temps, rain, wind, sleet), we stayed in Austin for 3 nights and caught up on some much needed errands and "chill time". Even though this trip seems so simple, we actually spend a great deal of our non-riding time hurriedly planning for the next day(s). This is especially true when staying with host families since a large part of the evening is spent socializing with them....one of the great benefits of traveling this way. That all said, we unfortunately didn't really see Austin like most tourists do, but we had a great time regardless! I even got to cook one night which was something I had really missed doing.
Leaving Austin was even harder than leaving San Antonio, mostly because we were starting to act like we lived there. We left the city and headed about 90 miles out into the beautiful rolling hills of east Texas, where we stayed with Carol on her ranch. Carol is just about the spunkiest 85 year old I've ever met. When she retired she moved to the country, bought a lot of land and then proceeded to build her own house, bunkhouse, wood shop, and numerous other buildings. She is an incredible woodworker, runs a bed & breakfast, plays music, is a pool shark, and is learning Spanish....and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Carol has also been hosting cyclist for 10 years and knew all the strings to pull when, upon leaving the next morning, Dot found a big nail had flattened her scooter tire.
Check out the early morning Texas frost!With Dot and Carol on "nail removal duty", I set out on the next 90 mile leg, not even sure if Dot would catch up that day or not. Luckily, the sun was out and the wind was mostly at my back so I made it to our next destination in record time. We stayed the night in Glen Flora, TX....population: 200, generously. The couple we stayed with were longtime adventurers as well who ironically had been to Putnam many times for the antiquing. Small world! This is the first town that we've stayed in that really FEELS southern and the hospitality was certainly there. After a delicious breakfast the next morning, Roy then rode the first 25ish miles with me. It was nice to have the company, especially on such a cold, dreary morning. Unfortunately the weather didn't clear (it only got colder and windier) so our plans to push it the 109 miles to Galveston, TX quickly became a pipe dream. We squeezed out a out 65 to Lake Jackson and decided that with 25mph wind gusts and 40 degree temps that was good enough!
Tomorrow we will try once again to push for Galveston and then further up the coast. While it feels wrong to complain about temperatures over freezing, being on a bike (and scooter) lately has become a bit un-fun thanks to the incessant winds. That said, this is an adventure and not a vacation, and to that end it is supposed to have un-fun, challenging days....it's the trip package we purchased! See y'all in Louisiana!
A post office in some unknown town on Farm Road 1301...they didn't have postcard stamps, but there was a nice dog named Daisy and it was a out 2 degrees warmer inside then it was outside...
The scooter goes to get its tire repaired...our bunkhouse in the background.
And lastly, The Alamo!
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I love it. Great update! Have fun, be safe.
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