Travels with Shadow
Exploring Texas
Mid Dec. '04 thru Feb. '05
In order to allow more liberal use of photos without causing long download times, I am only using black and white photos
There was frost on the windshield again and it was time to move on. I packed the dog in the car and my gear in the trailer and headed to Texas on December sixteenth. There was more to be seen in Louisiana but it was getting cold again.
I pulled out at seven thirty in the morning and took interstate ten across Louisiana until I hit Houston and then swung south, west and again north on 610, the ring road. After what seemed like an eternity I finally got on highway 59 and headed south toward Victoria. I do not like driving through cities.
It had been raining all day but when I hit Houston it turned into a deluge, and I kept thinking I had over shot my turnoffs. The weather cleared as I headed south and by the time I hit Victoria it was just threatening rain, not raining. I spotted a RV park as I entered the town and swung in, giving up on finding the one that I had so carefully planned on. Well nobody was in the office and the lots were unlevel and the place was in need of work. Then it seemed that all the electrical connections were for 50 amps and my unit takes 30 amps. Frustrated, I just drove off, hoping to find another place as I was tired and hungry. Not three miles later I followed the signs to the Lazy Longhorn, a beautiful place with wifi internet, cable and concrete pads for just five bucks more a night. I had been on the road for over eight hours just wanted a little rest and comfort.
I got out of Victoria about seven thirty and made good progress until I stoped for lunch. Then I reversed my direction and went north for twenty miles before I realized my mistake. Luckily I still made it to Brownsville before rush hour. The worst was going through Harlingen where the elevated highway for about ten or fifteen miles was torn up and I had to navigate between cement bariers at the edge of the now too narrow road. I kept waiting for the sound of my trailer being shredded by the bariers, but I made it through ok.
I got into the Honeydale Rv Park about three thirty, and quickly got set up. I fear that I have gotten myself into an assisted care fascility, locked gate and all. This is an "over fifty" park and the oldest resident is a hundred and three. People lost no time introducing themselves to the new inmate. I paid for a month at 202 bucks and metered electricity. It is nicely kept and is central to the places that I want to explore, besides they have wifi for my internet communications. There is no cable, but there are plenty of Spanish tv stations, however, the English ones don't come in very well if at all.
After hooking up with dish net I settled in for a few months at Honeydale. The grounds are lush and exceptionally well kept, and you can pick your breakfast oranges off the park's trees. There are enough scheduled activities to keep most people happy, card games, shuffle board, coffee and doughnut gatherings, etc. The staff is friendly and helpful and I recommend the place. Some of the units are for rent and reasonably priced, it is a good place to test the waters before selling the farm.
There has not been a measurable snow fall in Brownsville since Feb. 1895, and this morning we got and inch and a half. I guess I brought it with me. Of course snow on Christmas has made everybody happy here, including my dog. The temperature this morning was 27 degrees. I can't go any further south in the Texas, so I guess I'll have to put up with it. Normally the temperature fluctuates between mid sixties and high seventies. Of course I forgot to let my water tap drip last night, and so my water froze up. No big deal as it is supposed to hit fifty today. However, I now have no water for the low carb brownie mix that I was going to make for the Christmas party today. Guess I will have to carry some water in.
The water was on again by ten thirty in the morning and so I got the low carb brownies baked in my convection oven. I am not a health food nut like my wife was. It is just that I am an insulin dependent diabetic and have to count my carbs or die. It was a nice Christmas meal in that I didn't know most of the people. I really hate the big family get togethers with people you only see once a year, and you have to work to remember who they are and what their kids names are. It is really stressful. I feel more secure with strangers that I will probably never see again.
South Padre Island is across a causeway and bridge from Port Isabel, and is a narrow strip of land that streatches all the way up to Corpus Christi. The roadway, however, ends a few miles out of the town. After that you can drive on the beach if you have a four wheel drive. We walked the beach and on the way back we watch one pickup dig itself into the sand while trying to pull out another one that was buried up to it's axel. Even with four wheel drive, you have to know how to drive on this stuff, so we didn't.
Progresso is a typical border town, it could be in Mexico, Morocco, Spain, or any other country. It is chock full of junk shops, beggars, pharmacies and dentists, all vying for the American dollar. Although I had picked up 660 pessos before going over, nobody was interested in pessos, they all wanted the yankee dollar. My neighbors and I walked about for a couple of hours, bought some junk, had a few beers and came back. I guess I had better go back and get something for my other granddaughter whose birthday is next month or I will never hear the end of it. It might be worth staying a little longer to hear some decent Texano music.
On the way north I visited Lackland AFB where I did basic training and military police school about a hundred years ago. The on base RV park was full so I continued north, but not before taking the above picture of the Alamo.
From here it will be a mad dash to the border of Arizona and then the Grand Canyon, Nevada and then California.