200811

SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2008 – We begin the task of cutting out the carpet to fit the van.  Having made paper templates of the areas we want to fit we realise we can also do the cab and the hall and bathroom with a join leaving just the kitchen with lino.  Late morning Narlie is heading out to the commissary grocery store and I join her.  It’s a typical American base supermarket but with lower prices on most items however too busy for my liking.  Return to find Steve has almost finished the initial laying of the carpet and it looks fantastic, the colour is perfect and it feels so cosy.  We’ve done it in such a way that if we are at the beach we can easily remove all or just sections of it.  Narlie cooks a prawn gumbo soup for our evening meal and it is very tasty.  They have to pop out for a couple of hours but rejoin us in the motorhome for a last drink and chat.

SAN ANTONIO 2, BALCONES HEIGHTS

SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER – The clocks went back 1 hour last night, now 6 hours behind GMT.  Not really happy about this as it will be dark by around 6.30pm.  Frank has already left for work when we get up and Narlie is getting ready to go to church.  We make the most of the quieter traffic to escape San Antonio.  Begin to see lots of RV’s on the road; almost all are 5^th wheels down from Canada for the winter.  In Corpus Christi we head for the beach area and walk along to look at the impressive US Lexington aircraft carrier with planes visible on the deck.  Fill up with gas at just $1.89, that equates to 33p so 1/3 of the price in England.  We planned to go out to camp on Padre Island for up to a week but cannot find anywhere open selling propane and only have enough for about 3 days.  Settle onto Wal Mart for the night.  Unfortunately this one has a tannoy system with speakers apparently aimed towards the car park so we hear service announcements all through the night.

CORPUS CHRISTI WAL MART

MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER – Head out over the bridge to the National Seashore where our dated national parks pass saves us the $10 (£6.50) 1 month park entry fee.  Stop off at the visitor centre to use the cold showers then drive onto the beach.  It is almost deserted so we are happy to park up just a short distance along.  We are surprised by how clean it all is as following Gustav loads of debris ended up here.  Apparently people were allowed onto the beach to take whatever they wanted leaving less for the park rangers to deal with.  I read on the Internet that one couple salvaged a Coca Cola vending machine complete with the drinks and the money already put into it.  For the first time we get to use the windbreaks that we brought from England and boy do they make a difference making it pleasant to sit out by the van versus being sand blasted on the other side.

NORTH PADRE ISLAND, MESQUITE BEACH

TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER – We have a jobbing morning and get the finishing touches done to the carpet amongst other things.  Late afternoon we walk north to the campsite to make a phone call and use the showers.  It’s Election Day here and the news seems to indicate that America is about to have its first black president in Obama. 

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 2

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER – We get up late, it’s been a windy night and we need a lie in plus Steve has a bit of a sore throat.  The storm has cast more debris onto the shore so we take a walk south.  Most of the trash is bottles and toiletries but there are a couple of safety helmets, lots of barrels and bits of wood.  We try to sit out in the afternoon but the wind swirls the sand around and I can only stand it for so long.  After showering in the van I continue with my Central America tour planning.

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 3

THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER – Steve’s still not feeling too good so lays on the bed reading whilst I do more planning.  As I now have my Lonely Planet and a map of Central America I have enough to keep me occupied for many a day reading up on the 7 new countries we hope to tour, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador. Late afternoon a couple of small Mercedes Sprinter type motorhomes pull up.  Duncan has been living in Mexico but has come back to sell all the stuff he stored in Austin because he now wants to travel more in his motorhome.  Frank and Diana are from Florida and have been off on a big trip but met Duncan a few years ago and kept in touch because they have the same vehicles.  They have just come from their rendezvous on Boca Chica beach.  Duncan is planning a trip down to Argentina so we have lots to chat about.  They invite us to join them for a fish supper around their campfire and we add a stir-fry veg dish to the menu.  Good company and a pleasant change from being alone. 

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 4

FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER – We’ve had a rainy and windy night and it is not a pleasant morning.  The wind has changed direction and blasts through our door when we open up.  Duncan has lent me his book “99 days to Panama” an exploration of Central America by motorhome so I’m set up for the day.  I’ve wanted to buy it but never found anywhere that could deliver to a forwarding address at the right time.  I’ve invited the others down for a pasta lunch and this goes on until after 4pm.  Rejoin them in the evening and Duncan cooks up some Mexican food, which really whets our appetite for the upcoming trip.  Duncan used to run a couple of large restaurants but was in a bookstore one day and saw a boot titled something like “You don’t need a million to retire”, realised this was true and got out.  

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 5

SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER – Our new friends move on.  Steve is not feeling too well, sore throat and a hacking cough from time to time so unfortunately is not in the best of spirits to enjoy the glorious day.  The beach gets really busy and a few tents appear near us.  It’s quite amazing to see the headlight procession along the beach as the day-trippers leave.

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 6

SUNDAY 9 NOVEMBER – Steve slept in the front of the van last night so we both had a better night.  It’s a blustery cloudy morning so Steve packs up and after lunch we head towards the campground.  There we make use of the free dump station and take a nice long shower.  Bird Island is the other free camping spot on the opposite site of the barrier island and a bit more sheltered.  Few motorhomes of there but the windsurfers are out in full force. 

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 7, BIRD ISLAND

MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER – After rain in the night we are inspired to clean the sand off the van.  Walk around the area in both directions but to the south the “beach” becomes a bog and north is a dead end at the camping spit.  It’s still very windy but we have reasonable shelter from the motorhome and no sand blasting us.

NORTH PADRES ISLAND 8, BIRD ISLAND 2

TUESDAY 11 NOVEMBER – It’s Veterans Day here and we expected a lot of day visitor but this is not the case so maybe it isn’t a public holiday.  Usual day reading, trip planning and cleaning. 

NORTH PADRE ISLAND 9, BIRD ISLAND 3

WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER – The dull start to the day makes it easier for us to leave.  In Corpus Christi we shop at HEB, get the brakes checked in readiness for our big trip south (all OK) and the tyres blown up.  Heading south we are travelling roughly along the inland border of King Ranch, the oldest and biggest cattle ranch in the United States.  Pull onto Wal-Mart in Kingsville.  The snowbirds (winter Texans) are definitely here as there are 3 motorhomes from Quebec corralled at one side of us along with other North American vehicles. As is often the case we are the smallest and most simple one.

KINGSVILLE WAL MART

THURSDAY 13 NOVEMBER – It’s a cool and rainy day and the rain gets worse.  By the time we reach Harlingen we have to wait for a lull to get out to look at the Iwo Jima memorial.  The tallest memorial sculpture in USA it is the plaster cast over which the copper version was cast for Arlington Cemetery.  The museum has a most interesting 30-minute film explaining the importance of Iwo Jima Island.  Late in the war the Americans needed to capture it for a staging post.  It should have taken 3 days but the Japanese had hidden themselves in a catacomb of interconnecting tunnels on many levels covering the whole island.  The final battle lasted over 3 weeks with huge loss of life but the victory was a major factor in the whole war.  Nearby the Arts & Heritage Museum is a small collection of original buildings grouped together.  You can enter them all to wander round at will.  Amazing considering some of the antiques just sitting there.  I like the hospital building whilst the Stage Coach Inn impresses Steve.  After lunch we have a snooze in the motorhome the move off once the rain has stopped.  Arrive at the Wal Mart to find our Canadian friends Kevin & Ruth waiting for us.  It’s great to see them again and we have lots of catching up to do and lots more planning.  Decide that we will let the motorhome insurance situation dictate whether we proceed with our plan to try and drive to Panama or not.  They join us for a meal in our motorhome whilst we catch up on each other’s news.  It’s a stormy night with lots of rain, thunder and lightening. 

HARLINGEN WAL MART

FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER – In Brownsville we visit Sanborns who are famous for their Mexican insurance policies.  They told me on line they could offer cover for Central America but only sent us the prices for cars.  They can offer us full cover for 4 or the 7 Central American countries but she can’t confirm the premium until we apply but says it will be more than for a car and that is $1800 for 3 months.  The decision is made and we buy their Mexican insurance for 6 months, $419 (£270) and receive lots of complementary road logbooks.  With no time pressure anymore we head out to Boca Chica beach.  On the approach road we see lots of flooding that must have been from the storm yesterday and last night.  As the ocean comes into view we see the road completely flooded and grind to a halt.  Steve & Kevin walk through the water and eventually return to say we can just about get onto a small entrance area to the beach without getting bogged.  It’s hard to tell where the high tide mark is as the beach is so wet but the Border Patrol vehicle reckons we are above it.  Kevin backs in up the track behind us and we will monitor the water up until the 5.30pm high tide.  Ignoring the wetness the beach is much like North Padre Island.  It’s a lovely day and we spend the afternoon sat out.  Steve goes for a wander and returns with Coin.  Amazingly he is from Queensbury just a few miles from where we lived but over here for 6 weeks to help with a wildlife refuge project.  I brew him a proper cup of tea and substitute cinnamon cake for parkin.  He’s here today with friends to do some bird spotting and then watch the full moon rise over the ocean.   Join Kevin & Ruth for a meal in Sherman.  The moonrise is pretty impressive and begins as a huge pink ball that turns white as it rises.  Enjoy our first game of euchre together, the first of very many no doubt.  Return home around 10.30pm. 

BROWNSVILLE AREA, BOCA CHICA BEACH

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER – We are disturbed by youths in a couple of vehicles attempting to do doughnuts in the sand accompanied by loud bass boom boom music.  We’ve not been asleep long after they leave before the motorhome shaking wakes us.  It is really windy outside and continues to get worse with sand blasting away at us.  With 2-hours to high tide there is also the concern that the onshore wind is going to bring the sea up much higher.  Steve goes out and uses the headlights to find and walk back on the beach road.  He says it is less windy there and we should move.  Manhandling the windbreaks and groundsheet is very difficult and I think we end up with half the beach sand in the motorhome.  Steve tells Kevin & Ruth we are pulling forward and they follow.  In our “sheltered spot” the van is only swaying a little and we get a bit of sleep.  By the time we get up we are rocking as much as we were in the open last night.  Steve walks back to the beach to retrieve our doormat and says it is terrible.  Return to Brownsville with the intention of doing all the last minute things needed before Mexico.  This also seems to be doomed as Kevin & Ruth can’t find anywhere selling some dog medication they need for Whiskey.  All the propane dealers are shut or we can’t find them.  The upshot is that it takes us until 5pm to do a bit of grocery shopping, fill up with really cheap gas at $1.69 (£1.10) gallon and get the laundry done.  At times we think we have inadvertently crossed into Mexico as almost everyone looks Mexican and speaks Spanish, half the products in the grocery stores are Mexican and many road surfaces potholed or have road works.  We are all exhausted after our sleepless night so our final Wal Mart, even though it is by the main road, will have to do.  We are in bed by 8.30pm and asleep soon after. BROWNSVILLE, WAL MART

WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER – To avoid traffic Wayne works flexi time and leaves early in the morning.  Being self-employed and “not a morning person” Sylvia heads in later leaving us home alone.  We finish working on Harry to enable us to do a photo shoot to put on the Internet to help when we sell it.  In the afternoon we get more heavy rain but at least it is still warm.  After our evening meal we finish of the Mexican Train game, which I am lucky to win.

BROOKSHIRE 4

THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER – It’s a dull and drizzly morning, much like England except that it isn’t cold at all.  Spend the day on the Internet making a number of purchases to be sent to our host in San Antonio.  In the evening I cook a Chinese stir-fry.  I join Wayne in the hot tub whilst Steve watches TV and Sylvia catches up on some work.

BROOKSHIRE 5

FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER – No drizzle but another dull morning.  Sylvia stays home working in her office, if she doesn’t have patients to see she doesn’t need to go into her main office.  She recently had to relocate office when her other one suffered storm damage and only last week was in a car crash so she has lots of paperwork to do.  I cook up a huge curry to take to the party tomorrow.   Join Sylvia on an afternoon shopping trip then return to pick up the lads for an evening meal out.  Sylvia has been told that both her insurance claims are to be paid out soon and wants to treat us.  End up at the Red Lobster where we get some good seafood meals.  Once we get back I set about making Steve and I some party outfits out of garbage bags and end up quite pleased with the result.

BROOKSHIRE 6

SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER – Sylvia does most of the party organisation and keeps props and decorations in her huge attic.  We load a lot of it into the motorhome then head off in front of them.  Weimer is about 1 hour away and we rendezvous at the motel where they are going to stay overnight – they turned down an invite to stay in the motorhome as they both snore a lot!  Out at Franz’s farm the barn needs a good sweeping and during this Steve comes across a snake wrapped up in a carpet he is unrolling.  Steve performs his “jumping out of the way” snake dance then someone else helps him to kill it, as it is a dangerous rattler.  Once this is all done I join them to help put out some of the decorations.  People begin arriving from around 4pm and bearing in mind this is a Healthy Hides of Houston naturist gathering names have been changed to protect the guilty!  Once everyone has had a chat we begin on the variety of food dishes and I am pleasantly surprised to see a number of people trying my curry.  The fancy dress competition follows – Garry has cards stuck on his chest and casino chips made into a G String so his character is Texas Hold Em (wishful thinking).  His wife Marjorie has a mousetrap hung on a necklace and she is the “booby trap”.  Lila is a witch, Jenny a sailor, Mickey has a plant painted on his back with the flowerpot on his bottom, Tim has a ripped up shirt but I didn’t catch the name of his character.  Darren is the elephant man with a fat suit up top and a pair of tights with one leg filled with toilet roll tubes and dangling, well you can guess where.  His wife Caroline is a naughty nurse whilst Sharon comes as “I don’t do mornings” in a bathrobe with rags in her hair and an eye mask.  Vince and his wife are excellent as the blues brothers, Bob is the deer hunter and his wife is in Egyptian belly dancing outfit.  Jimmy is a hoot as he is an elderly guy who had a motorbike accident recently and is in a wheelchair with his foot in plaster so he wears his crash helmet and poses as Evil Knevil!  Sylvia looks great as “Little Red Riding Hood” whilst I muddle through as Glen of the Garbo and Steve is just a scary character.  Silvia has enlisted my help in organising games so we play the potato croquet game that I learnt on the Nile Cruise and have a good laugh.  Follow this up with a few dancing games then its time for dessert after which a few people leave whilst others sit around chatting.  A great party with lots of interesting characters.  As usual a small hard-core group are left to clear up but we are lucky in only having a short walk home.

WEIMER

SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER – A small group return to finish packing things up and I cook up the left over ham and make scrambled eggs to go with it.  With breakfast over it’s time to take our leave after a super week in Wayne & Sylvia’s company.  Heading towards Austin the landscape changes to rolling hills, and the wheat fields give way to hills with trees.  A Globalfreeloaders host has put us in touch with a friend who has parking outside her office.  Lynn’s parents visit in their motorhome and she has set it up with water and electricity as well.  On the southern edge of the river within walking distance of the city it would be perfect, were it not for the railway track just a few feet away.  I’ve made contact with a couple from the Hill Country Nudist group and Anne & John come over in the afternoon to pick us up for a ride out.  Anne is Scottish but lived in London for many years then came to America and eventually to Austin where she met her husband John.  We have loads in common, Anne is a fellow traveller and John has lived abroad, so it is non-stop chat as we drive us out to Lake Travis.  Hippie Hollow is the only official naturist beach in Texas and from the car park an excellent paved path takes us along the edge of the lake high above the water.  In fact the water level is so low at the moment you can see lots of islands appearing whereas there have been times in the past when the path has been flooded.  It’s a beautiful spot with lots of inlets and plenty of flattish large ledges on the rocks below where you can sunbathe.  Settle down to relax and chat.  It’s a bit of a scramble down to the water but once there it’s a pleasure to swim in the lake.  We walk to the end of the main path and see many areas where boats are anchored by the shore.  It reminds us of Croatia and is exceptionally pretty.  Many hours later it’s is time to leave and Anne has invited us back for a meal so we can continue our chats.  It was Anne who suggested our detour to Austin because of the music and we make arrangements to meet up tomorrow night to check it out.   

AUSTIN

MONDAY 20 OCTOBER – Well I counted 5 trains and Steve only heard 2 and I’m not sure they were the same ones so it was a pretty noisy night but I did manage a couple of good stretches of sleep.  Set off walking towards the city and find a pedestrian bridge over the river then a nice walking track beside the river on the north bank.  The bats that spend summer under the Congress Bridge have left and there is no sign of them at all.  Up on the main drag we go inside the 1884 Driskill Hotel and find it really impressive.  Wander round some other streets and see a skyscraper with a kind of church style building at the top level but no tourist info about it.  A passer by stops and tells us the top floor is where President Johnson’s wife “Lady Bird” lived until she died just a few years ago.  The passer by is actually a tour guide on her day off and walks a few blocks with us giving us info and suggestion her top 5 attractions, of which we had planned to do 3 anyway.  Following a part of a walking tour we pass some interesting mansions and then see one of the “moonlight towers”.  Back in 1895 these were the first street lights in Austin and from their 165’ towers 6 arc lamps would cover a radius of 3000’.   The impressive domed State Capitol is slightly taller than the one in Washington because of the statue on top.  We take the free-guided tour to admire the interior and are amazed when we end up in the basement that leads onto a completely new wing.  The café is open to the public and makes a suitable lunch stop.  The Bob Bullock State History Museum, $6 (£3.60) is excellent as the story of Texas is portrayed over 3 floors going right back to when the Native Indians were about the only inhabitants.  Much of it is realistic setting with a mock Alamo area and lots of movie clips.  The story leads us through to modern day and the oil boom.  We ask about walking over to the LBJ library and museum and get various responses initially beginning with “you don’t have a car and want to walk there”?  Eventually learn we can walk through the university campus.  We fit in completely, not because we are so young but because for once everybody else is also walking!  Our stroll takes us past the “Longhorns” college football stadium and what a stadium it is.  It is being expanded but is already much bigger than any of the stadiums we have in England including something like Wembley and this is just for college games.  The LBJ museum and library houses memorabilia from Linden Johnson’s time as President, free admission.  It is based on his personal timeline linked with world events and extremely interesting.  A movie fills us in on his life and it seems he was doing rather well as President until the country went to war in Vietnam (now does this sound a bit familiar to you?).  On the top floor there is a replica Oval office and another floor houses lots of NASA exhibits, as it was LBJ that was initially challenged by Kennedy to get a man on the moon by the end of the 60’s.  I spot a nose cone of a jet named “Glamorous Glennis” and after posing by it I read up that it was the one that first broke the sound barrier – how appropriate!  We are enjoying it so much we get kicked out at 5pm closing time.  You can get a 24-hour local bus pass for $1.50 (90p) and with one connection the buses get us back home in about 45 minutes.  After a nibble and a quick change John & Anne pick us up.  We go back into the city and along the famous 6^th street but being a Monday night there is not a lot of activity but it’s still good to see.  Back on the south bank we end up at Barons where the car park is full and music can be heard.  A $5 (£2.95) cover charge applies and we soon settle into a booth with our drinks.  Its country style music but the band have written many of their own songs with ballads about Mexico.  It’s pleasant enough but no one is dancing and Anne & John have work tomorrow so after an hour or so we call it a day.

AUSTIN 2

TUESDAY 21 OCTOBER – Got up to 8 last night with my train count and worse still many of them came to a halt and then started off again a bit later.  Definitely can’t handle another night here.  Walk over to the Zilker City Park and begin at the Botanical Gardens.  There’s a butterfly section that leads into an area with some prehistoric animal figures then through the rose garden into the Oriental Garden.  It’s all rather pleasant but not outstanding.  Walking back across the park we reach the famous Barton Springs pool.  It’s a natural spring fed pool and they have damned the stream to create a 975’ long swimming pool,  $3 (£1.80) admission, with a constant 68F temperature.  Claire would love doing her long distance training here.  We meet up with Globalfreeloaders host Karen who put is in touch with Lynn where we are parked up.  Unfortunately she is really busy so can’t stay chatting for long.  I attempt to do some serious swimming but the cool water combined with the plants and fish make me uncomfortable.  There’s an exhibit room behind the changing rooms that does a great job of explaining how springs evolved over the history of time and how this one works.  Return for lunch then head south.  We are amazed to pick up the cheapest gas since June 2007 at just $2.37 a gallon, with the present exchange rate that equates to 36p a litre.  San Marcos visitor centre is marginally better than useless in that they do have some brochures from which we can gather information.  It seems that camping areas we wanted to visit around Canyon Lake are closed for the season so we retire to Wal Mart to re plan.  I’m amazed to see a queue at the gun department with dozens of rifles in the glass cabinet.  Hunting season starts on 1^st November and Wal Mart in the next town are not allowed to sell guns due to a county by law so obviously people are coming here.  All they need to complete a purchase is a piece of paper to say they have had a background check done.  It’s a fairly quiet parking spot but the trains are still haunting us as we hear them tooting in the distance even if we can’t hear the trains themselves.  Steve makes a few phone calls and finds that what bit of information the visitor centre lead us to is duff and some of the campgrounds are still open.  Caesars Pizza are doing a customer appreciation special of $3.99 (£2.40) for a large pizza, too good to resist. 

SAN MARCOS, WAL MART

WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER – Head off on the “Devils Backbone” road with fine views of the countryside. Ignore Purgatory road in order to take in the more scenic part of the road before turning off to Canyon Lake.  North Park is one of many COE (Corps of Engineers) lakeside campgrounds.  The guy at the kiosk tries to tell us we won’t want to stay here and would be better with all the other RV’s at Potters Creek Park with electric and an $18 price tag.  Assure him we would rather be here in the quiet rustic surroundings at $8 (£4.80).  We are happier still when we find that the National Parks pass gives us half price and he doesn’t notice that is out of date!  With all the sites to choose from we take and end one directly above the beautiful lake.  The water is low so we have a clamber about 15’ down over rocks to get into the water but it’s a pleasant temperature and nice and clean.  There’s a picnic table with canopy so we sit out for lunch just enjoying the view.   We can even get a wi-fi signal for a few miles away across the lake using our Hawking dish so we are even happier bunnies when Steve gets his football results!  Late afternoon a real storm whips up and we only just manage to get the awning away safely.

CANYON LAKE 1, NORTH PARK

THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER – A cool change has come through with the winds and for the first time in months I dig out my ¾ trousers and wear and T-shirt and jumper.  There’s a very pleasant walk out over the dam giving us views in both directions.  By the time we get back it has warmed up and in fact becomes really hot in the afternoon.  The lake is super for swimming in and the water clear enough for us to bring buckets back for washing.

CANYON LAKE 2, NORTH PARK

FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER – My goodness what a shock to the system, the night temperature drops to 40F and I have to get up to find another cover to put on the bed.  Just not used to this so linger in bed until 9am when it is just about warm enough to get up!  Walk the opposite way around the lakeshore to the private marina and then inadvertently into the Army one.  There are security fences everywhere except along the beach so I guess they don’t expect anyone to actually walk there!  Anyway they allow us to buy a drink and we make our way back to camp along the main road.  By lunchtime lots of other campers are arriving and boats are zipping around on the lake.  It’s a glorious day so we sit on our terrace enjoying a pasta meal washed down with lots of nice wine.  Mums now home and I chat on the phone and find she is walking around with just sticks for assistance but still very sore.  The campground gets busier with a number of tents setting up and a large motorhome down near us.  Mike & Patti leave just 4 miles from here up in the hills but like to come down to the Lake at weekends to enjoy the view and give Mike a chance to fish.  Sit out playing Yahtzee in the afternoon.  We get a lovely sunset over the lake to round off a perfect day.

CANYON LAKE 3, NORTH PARK

SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER – Back to the warmer nights.  The lake is dotted with small yachts when we get up and they seem to have races throughout the day.  Instead of going for a walk I do a bit of swimming.  Usual evening of cards and a bit of TV viewing.

CANYON LAKE 4, NORTH PARK

SUNDAY 26 OCTOBER – Mike comes over and says he is leaving this morning and would we like to follow him and park up at his home.  It’s a bit of a cloudy morning so we agree and follow him home.  He lives on aptly names Skyline road with views over the valley.  We have a nice parking spot by the shed with electricity and water.  Patti suffers with ill health and sits around most of the time watching TV but Mile obviously wants to socialise with us and makes a great host.  He cooks his evening meal on the BBQ and invites us to add our joint of pork.  He throws on a couple of enormous potatoes for us then serves it to us on the terrace.  Mike tries to stick to a special diet so cooks his own food and a separate meal for Patti but keeps popping back to sit with us and chat.

SATTLER

MONDAY 27 OCTOBER – Mike says to stay as long as we want and we can certainly use a day on electric to do more travel research on the Internet.  Take an afternoon stroll up the hill but too many trees obscure the views.    In the evening he pops down for a chat and brings some whole roasted garlic and smoked peanuts, he’s a bit of a chef on the quiet and does a great job.  He tells us about a TV programme where a chef  “Curtis Stone” surprises people in the supermarket and offers to take them home and cook a meal using the goods in their trolley, must look out for it.

SATTLER 2

TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER – Another cold night and we could do to be heading south a bit quicker but want to hang on for our Canadian friends to catch up with us.  Mike tells us the River Road to New Braunfels is scenic and it certainly is as it crosses the Guadalupe River 4 times.  There are numerous campgrounds on the banks but all are closed for the season.  Gruene began as a German settlement of farmers and many of the original buildings still remain.  It has a very attractive main street with lots of artisans and one of the oldest dance halls in Texas, often used in movies.  In New Braunfels we make a lunch stop in Landa Park then take a walk up to Comal Springs.  The biggest springs in Texas pump water into the Comal River, the shortest river in America at 2 ½ miles long.  Within the park is an old oak tree planted by original settlers in 1700 but it needs a lot of support to stop it collapsing onto the ground as it is now growing out at about 45 degree angle.  On the edge of the park they are setting up for the big “Wurstfest” this weekend and it looks like it’s going to be a big event with lots of halls and roped off areas.  Try to get to the centre of town but the turning we take leads us over a narrow bridge then towards a railway bridge with only 11’5” headroom and we are 12’.  Stop in our tracks but trying to get the cars to back up or wait for us to manoeuvre is impossible. In the end Steve waits for a gap in the on coming traffic then pulls into that lane to reverse beside all the cars that were backed up behind us.  One guy calls out that we are stupid idiots but doesn’t linger long enough for us to explain that there were no warning signs from the direction that we came.  Find a better road into the centre then out to where we are planning on parking at Couchsurfer Abel’s office.  It’s a similar location to our spot in Austin, right at the side of the railway but we reckon we can cope with anything for 1 night.  After making introductions Abel says he needs to chop a few branches off the trees and our arrival spurs him into action.  Once in place we are amazed at just how loud the train is and the fact that it toots its horn continuously.  All the road crossings have barriers across so we cannot understand the need for the horn at all.  Abel joins us for supper and tells us about some suspicious things that happened at the time of 9/11 www.911truth.org sounds like an interesting site that contradicts many of the official versions of events.  Abel is off to Guatemala next month for a couple of weeks so we are hoping he will be able to get back to us with some tips.

NEW BRAUNFELS   

WEDNESDAY 29 OCTOBER – We are lucky in that there are only a couple of trains in the early hours of the morning so manage a reasonable nights sleep.  It’s another cold night and morning and I end up putting the central heating on to entice us out of bed.  Drive to the centre of town and park up to walk around.  A German Prince from Braunfels founded this part of the city and much of the architecture retains the German influence.  Murals on the side of buildings tell the history of the first settlers.  The courthouse is impressive complete with bell tower.  A visit to the German bakery is a treat except the black forest cake can only be bought as a whole and is a huge one at $15.  Round of our visit in the hardware store that retains the old pulley system for transaction, sliding ladders and glass display cabinets.   Pick up the I35 heading to San Antonio, the 6^th largest city in America.  In our opinion the traffic is terrible even though we have missed rush hour.  Our Couchsurfing hosts live in the northwestern suburb of Balcones Heights and we easily find their home and park on the second driveway.  At the end of the street there are shops within walking distance and a frequent bus service to the city centre.  Narlie pops back mid afternoon to introduce herself and give us our mail.  Frank gets home around 4pm; he’s a lab technician but has just learnt that due to cutbacks they will not be renewing his contract.  Frank has been in the military and spent lots of time abroad but isn’t travelling this moment so this is why they have joined Couchsurfers.  When Narlie gets home we find out she had put a rack of ribs in the oven earlier and invites us to join them.  She comes from the Philippines but is very happy living here.  They both go out early in the morning so around 10pm we retire to the motorhome.

SAN ANTONIO, BALCONES HEIGHTS

THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER – Catch the bus from the end of the road. The driver can’t sell us the $3.75 day-tripper pass but says we can ride for free and buy one in the city later.  Just over ½ hour later we hop off and walk down Houston Street pausing to admire the many attractive buildings.  Arrive in the centre of the city at “The Alamo” a stunning location with the historic park being surrounded by impressive high-rise buildings.  It’s free to go around and we begin with the movie about the battle.  It’s a really nice area with quite a few of the old buildings remaining.  Outside the long barracks is a modern cenotaph depicting heroes from the siege.  Along side Alamo Plaza a row of buildings house all manner of modern attractions and we buy a 3-attraction ticket for $26.95 (£15).  Begin in the Guinness World Records Museum with lots of interactive exhibits.  Next we do the 3D Tomb Raiders ride that is much like the Toy Story ride at Disney, in fact probably not as good.  Wind up on Ripley’s Haunted Adventure.  You ascend in a 45-degree lift to the upper floor of a building to be greeted by a spooky person.  At this point we are the only people in the attraction (as we were at all the other places) so he leads us into the haunted chamber to tell us we must now make our way through the various rooms to get out of the building.  He tells us things will come at us but nothing will touch us and then sends us on our way.  A combination of animatronics, real live actors and special effects attempt to scare us as we make our way through the corridors.  It’s actually all rather tame and we end up laughing rather than being scared.  So our one off splurge on attractions turns out to be a bit of a waste of money.  Set out to hit the real attractions of the city.  The main channel of the river was straightened out but the bend retained to form a kind of canal that runs just below street level.  It all sounds rather strange but when we find the steps down to it this little oasis right in the city centre enchants us.  You can walk along both banks of the river with dozens of restaurants, all busy at lunchtime.  Riverboats make the circular trip but we opt to walk it and stop for our sandwiches on a park bench part way round.  Having completed the circuit we wander through the old area of Villita where the traditional adobe house now house craft shops.  At the head of the river bend another channel leads out in a T shape to the river centre mall at one end and the Convention Centre at the other.  Through the Convention Centre we emerge into Hemisfair Park where lots of old buildings were relocated for a world expo.  A few blocks further and we are in the King William Historic District with street after street of magnificent and unusual architectural gems of houses mainly from the late 1800’s.  The area walking tour leaflet describes many of the features and gives a history of the original owners then leads us back to the river, which we follow back to the bus stop.  Having walked all the areas we wanted to see we just pay the single $1 (60p) fare to get us home by around 4pm.  So overall we are very impressed with our first look at San Antonio but decidedly footsore after our big trek.  Narlie seems to be coming down with a cold and doesn’t feel too good after work so we stay in the motorhome.  Next door the Community Centre is a hive of activity with work going on inside until 2am. 

SAN ANTONIO 2, BALCONES HEIGHTS

FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER – Notice that the windows and door of the Community Centre are blacked out so suspect they were preparing the room for a Halloween party tonight.  Take a walk up to the nearby Crossroads Mall but it looks like it is dying fast.  Apparently planners are forever creating bigger and better malls then people no longer visit the old ones.  In the afternoon Frank says he would like to take us out to a special place he knows and asks if there is anything else we want to do.  Yesterday we saw a carpet remnant place nearby so he takes us there and for $15 (£9) we get a nice piece of shag pile for the motorhome.  The lino is great in the summer or at the beach but carpet is much cosier in the winter.  Brackenridge is the location of the Japanese tea garden.  There is a quirky story attached as after Pearl Harbour they were forced to rename it a Chinese tea garden and had a Mexican create a wooden looking concrete entrance in the shape of a Chinese entrance gate.  Today it has reverted to being the Japanese sunken garden and what a treasure it is.  There is a fantastic huge stone pagoda with lots of fancy arches overlooking the sunken garden and pool.  Numerous paths and bridges lead you around the gardens and there is even a waterfall.  On the way back Frank calls in to Barnes & Noble bookstores where we manage to buy the Central America map that we need.  In the evening Frank & Narlie are going to a party that starts at 10pm so try to fit in a snooze before hand.  The disco begins next to us but it is nice music and we are happy to watch the kids having fun there whilst others roam the streets treat or treating.  Couchsurfer Mary was unable to offer us motorhome parking but wants to take us out to her favourite restaurant.  La Fogata is a fantastic Tex Mex restaurant and looks enchanting from outside with fairly lights everywhere.  When we enter through some old Mexican wooden doors we hear the mariachi band playing.  Mary is excellent company and recommends certain items on the menu.  The food is excellent as are their famous margaritas.  We are having such a good time that Mary comes back to the motorhome and stays chatting until after midnight. SAN ANTONIO 3, BALCONES HEIGHTS