On day three of our trip we drove through Texas. Farther. For a long time.
Texas is a huge state with a constantly changing landscape, from desert, to forests, farms to beaches. I was born on Galveston Island, and we spent some years in Houston when I was young. I have 16 first cousins, most of whom live in Austin and Houston, as do many of their children, and their children’s children. Later in his career my father worked at a couple of different hospitals in the Texas towns of Fortworth and Tyler. Since I didn’t grow up with the Texas Hauser clan I’ve started to reach out now and then to meet them in adulthood. I am called back to my birth state to explore and connect.
I like planning travel to include sights but also leave time for occasional detours, coffee stops, and rests. Zach seems to enjoy that I manage this part of our trips, or he pretends well. We left Junction, Texas and headed out towards San Antonio. Our first stop.
I remember being there as a kid, with family, and maybe family friends. Does anyone remember drinking water as a child in the 70s? No? Neither do I. What I do remember of San Antonio is driving a long way (everything seemed to take a long time when I was 6) to a very hot place, feeling nauseated in the car, and nearly fainting once we got out. I now know that I faint when I’m dehydrated. Also, all adults smoked when I was a child, so maybe it wasn’t just car-sickness, but being in a closed up bubble breathing cigarette smoke. I dunno.
Anyway, San Antonio is a big city. We’re traveling in an RV. Parking? How hard could it be (my motto for life). The RV is considered an oversized vehicle, and is too tall for a parking garage. We found a perfect parking spot behind a giant pickup in an open lot, for around $20. Score!
From there we walked down to the River Walk to stretch and breathe and experience that lovely area. Green. Everything is so GREEN! So many gorgeous plants and flowers. Old architecture and new. Restaurants. Tourists. Locals. We chatted with a young man who is in the Army there, and pointed us towards restaurants. Being in Texas we chose BBQ, of course. Walking back my mind-control Fitbit buzzed to let me know I hit my 10,000 steps.
After lunch we walked back to the RV to get on the road towards our next destination. I decided we should head towards the coast and spend a night in or near Galveston. Three reasons not to camp out on a beach:
- Sand
- Mosquitos
- Other people
More details to come.
Explore, Create, Inquire, Seek, Share, Learn 
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