<– Day 33 – Thu. May 14th: Leaving On a Jet Plane | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 35 – Sat. May 16th: The End of Texas –>

This was my view for much of today. The Grass covered prairies of the Texas panhandle stretch for miles and the roads are straight and fast.

Today was the first day of the Midwest Willys Reunion, so I hope every has a good time there! I do have a few books and t-shirts available through Bob Christy. If you see him and can slow him down for a minute, he’ll help you.

Today’s drive to Amarillo, Texas.

I began today knowing I’d be on the road longer for a longer span of time than I had since the early part of our trip. (Yes honey, read long lonely roads!). Fortunately, there were a few stops and surprises along the way.

Only in Texas would you find a Texas-shaped waffle maker. We saw these at several motels.

The first surprise was west of Wichita Falls. When I saw this CJ-3A, I braked immediately. I *think* it is for sale. It’s got rust. It also has some allstate front hubs.

Not much longer after I saw this 3A, a truck pulling a trailer with an M-38 whizzed past me. I couldn’t pull out my camera in time to capture that one.

Continue reading →

<– Day 32 – Wed. May 13th: No Raining on Murphy’s Parade | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 34 – Fri. May 15th: High Plains Drifter –>

The owner of this BBQ restaurant in Grapevine was a retired cop who had never worked in a restaurant before launching his BBQ restaurant. Last fall he had someone build a custom smoker that looks like a train. Here he is explaining how it works. Despite it being the hardest job he’s ever had, he loves running the restaurant.

Ann’s grandfather took a turn for the worse. After I watched her stress eat two bags (small bags) of M&Ms I knew it was time to send her back home for a few days. So, she arrived in Pasco Thursday evening.

After dropping Ann at the airport I left for Bowie, TX.

Prior to her departure, we attempted to accomplish one thing. We wanted to see the cowboy glockspiel in the town of Grapevine. The cowboy glockspiel is a clock tower. At certain times of the day, two automatronic cowboys appear on the tower and engage in a gunfight. I’m told one always dies, but never the same one. The death is chosen at random by a computer.

We arrived in Grapevine at 11:30am, all ready to watch the gunfight unfold. It turned out we arrived as the town was readying itself for their annual beer celebration. So, there was a great deal of hustle and some bustle all through town.

Yes, lots of hustle and bustle in town, but not evident at all in this photo of downtown.

Continue reading →

<– Day 31 – Tue. May 12th: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 33 – Thu. May 14th: Leaving On a Jet Plane –>

Audi Murphy looks taller in person . . .

Today we began our trek northwestward. We got going later than planned, as usual, so I passed up my opportunity to be manscaped at the local barber, Milford’s, that Jason recommended. We really needed to get going so we could beat the rain that was heading our direction from Dallas. So, I remain longhaired.

Our first objective was Whitehouse, Texas, to locate a big hat. Along the way we passed two towns Jason mentioned during our history lesson: Sacul and Reklaw. These two adjacent towns faced the same problem when they applied for a post office. Both original names were taken. So, the town brain trusts decided to spell the names backwards. Thus, Lucas became Sacul and Walker became Reklaw.

When we finally reached Whitehouse it didn’t take long to locate the hat. It’s a big white hat that sits atop a coffee shop. It just might be the largest cowboy hat in Texas! Of course, I had to buy a drink.

Continue reading →

<– Day 30 – Mon. May 11th: Three-nap Kind of Day | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 32 – Wed. May 13th: No Raining on Murphy’s Parade –>

Jason Monday and I next to his M-677.

Our goal for Tuesday was to stay dry. It wasn’t easy to achieve, because it rained hard at times!

As planned, we began the day with Tacos at Titas Taco House in Humble. Once again, they were awesome. This time I got to watch them make the corn tortillas. Their dough station sat just behind their serving station. They were pretty much rolling and cooking them as they served them. You can’t get any fresher than that!

Front doors of the Texas Prison Museum.

With breakfast finished, we headed for the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville. Apparently, Huntsville is the prison city and for more than a half century hosted the prison rodeo. It was a big hit for the city economically and people from all over came to spectate. Even some stars arrived to participate. One of the more odd events was the Monday Grab. A bag of cash was strapped to the neck of a bull. The prisoner who could grab the money and hand it to an official won the money. We saw some video and it was a wild event! The rodeo ended in 1986.

Inside the museum.

Ann seemed to enjoy seeing me inside a cell.

Continue reading →

<– Day 29 – Sun. May 10th: Breaking up the Beatles?? Not again!! | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 31 – Tue. May 12th: A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall –>

Titas Taco House in Humble, Texas

Apparently, we needed some rest. We woke up early, checked emails, Facebook, etc, then fell back asleep for a nap. I blame the rain (seems as good excuse as any and it rained all day).

When we awoke, I was hungry. I found a place I wanted to try called Titas Taco House that had a five start YELP rating with 145 reviews. So off we went.

It was 11am when we arrived at the Humble, Texas, location to find a house converted into a small restaurant. We could see much of the dirt parking lot because it was already filled with cars. This bode well for our food adventure.

Inside the restaurant there was no list of prices and no menu. There was a series of poles and ropes, suggesting that long lines were not unusual.

Poles to help direct customer traffic.

However, we must have timed it right, because we walked right up to the order station. In front of us were about 20 different options for filling our tacos.

Lots of taco filling options

Again, no names on anything. We had to ask what was what. Ann decided on three corn tortillas filled with egg & sausage, potatoes and polish sausage, and poblanos and cheese. To make the tortillas, the server laid a thin layer of refried beans onto the tortilla and then added a small amount of filling.

Continue reading →

<– Day 28 – Sat. May 9th: A Big Boat (Ship) | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 30 – Mon. May 11th: Three-nap Kind of Day –>

New friends of ours. Brian is on the left, Melodie is in the middle, and Lauren (Melodie’s mother) is on the right. Melodie and Brian are a very happily engaged couple. It seems Lauren approves, for she was all smiles, too. Ann told them I’d be publishing their photo here. We wish you all the best of luck!!

We thought Sunday morning would be a good time to explore Houston, due to the lack of traffic.

Since I’d had my eye on a French bakery & Cafe just around the corner from the hotel, we didn’t drive far Sunday morning before we stopped at La Madeleine’s for a pastry. Well, one of us stopped for a pasty, because  Ann can’t enjoy flour based pastries any more. So, I ran inside and ordered an apple turnover and a mini chocolate croissant (both crunchy and excellent). I also found a fresh fruit tart that Ann could eat. So, I gave it to her as a Mother’s Day surprise.

After we consumed our respective breakfasts, we drove towards the Art Car Museum. Along the way, fate intervened. As we exited the freeway near downtown, we looked off to our right and spotted three people posing in front of a Love Houston sign. Naturally, we knew that spot was made for us to photograph, so we spun around the block and found a place to park.

We arrived at the sign and met Brian Kozel, Melodie Smith, and Melodie’s mother Lauren Moore, who were just finishing up with their photos. Ann quickly volunteered to take the photo of all three, but the iPhone camera couldn’t capture the whole scene. So, Ann handed it to me. I bravely leaped (okay meekly backed) into the three lane road to get a better shot, but dodging oncoming cars racing at 55mph was a stretch for my poor camera skills. Of course, there was no way I was sending Ann into traffic. With her bum knee, she doesn’t play live Frogger so well.

It was at this point that my wise wife spared me from certain doom and volunteered to use our Nikon to take the photo and send them the resulting image via text. For some reason, they agreed to have a couple of crazy Washingtonian’s send them a text, which is how we got to know them. We also learned that Brian and Melodie are getting married, so congrats to them!

We did eventually get our own photo:

The building behind us was just built. I suspect this sign was much cooler when the building was there.

With our love for Houston documented, we jetted on down the road for our next destination.

I’m pretty sure I’d first learned about Houston’s Art Car Parades from a Smithsonian Magazine article, probably in the 1990s. The event is held annually on the second Saturday in April and has become a big deal. One of the spinoffs of the parade is the free Art Car Museum.

We pulled up to the museum. Expectedly, it was not your average building. What really surprised us was to see a vehicle parked under the front carport that we’d seen before. It took us a little while, but we finally figured out it had been on loan to the Studebaker Museum in 2013 when we stopped in there. Small world!

Art Car Museum entrance

This is the art car we saw at the Studebaker Museum. The eyes in the front light up blue.

Continue reading →

<– Day 27 – Fri. May 8th: The King Ranch | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 29 – Sun. May 10th: Breaking up the Beatles?? Not again!! –>

The clouds looked menacing, but it was a fine day for touring the USS Lexington — though the wind was a pain on the Flight deck.

On Friday night in Corpus Christy I was hungry, so after searching through YELP, I finally found a place to go eat some food that was highly rated AND open after 9pm (best hidden food gem in Corpus Christi was one review). It was a small ‘Asian Street Food (my description)’ place called Z Counter. The reviews were great and the photos of the food made me feel optimistic. So, off we went.

Click on the photo and you’ll be able to see the whole menu. They also had photos of all the items on a separate wall.

They only have this one location. I wish they had one near us in Pasco! I don’t quite get the name, but I sure like the food.

I’ll just cut to the chase and say the reviews were right on the money. I had a simple pork bowl, yet they turned that into delicious contrast of fresh, sweet, hot, and smokey (from the charbroiled pork) that made it delightful. We also had some Spam Musubi, which was also surprisingly good. In fact, I only had one problem with the Z Counter: I was too full to order and try some of their other dishes. So, Ann and I agreed that on Friday we’d return for lunch.

On Friday morning, we tackled our biggest planned event of the day, a trip to the USS Lexington (CV-16) Museum. The USS Lexington is an Aircraft Carrier ‘parked’ just off the shore in Corpus Christi. One of the things I learned is that some folks call the Carrier a ship (I’m told that is correct Navy-speak for a vessel of that size), while other folks gleefully call them boats (I’m told that was one way certain Air Force personnel would needle Navy personnel). So, call it what you want, but for me it was my first opportunity to explore an aircraft carrier.

The carrier is nearly moored on the beach. There’s a ramp to walk up to the museum entrance or visitors can wait for the shuttle.

Continue reading →

<– Day 26 – Thu. May 7th: Rainbow Flight & Texas Border Towns | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 28 – Sat. May 9th: A Big Boat (Ship) –>

Of course, we had to take this photo. Had we shot it last night, the sun would have been perfect. As it was this morning, we had to play with the light quite to make this work.

We woke up early Friday morning with plans to drive north.

But, before we left South Padre, Ann wanted to walk in the surf. So, we drove to the beach. Despite the red-flag-beware-of-the-water warning, we walked into the water. I had to deliver a reminder to my wife that she shouldn’t be playing in the surf at all, because I didn’t want to have to carry her back to the car. So, despite her inner-child, she behaved.

As we left the beach we encountered the South Padre Convention Center and these large upside down head sculptures.

Continue reading →

<– Day 25 – Wed. May 6th: Beyond San Antonio’s Riverwalk | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 27 – Fri. May 8th: The King Ranch –>

Oh NO! Attack of the killer bee!!

Today was a long day of driving, our longest day in a month. We drove 400 miles, which isn’t that far in terms of distance. However, our need to document the trip and take photos can turn quick stops into hour-long affairs. So, we tend to need lots of time, which we had because we both woke up at 7am on Thursday wondering why we were awake (we are late risers). We quickly figured out that our early rise was in part due to the air conditioner’s inability to cool our room. So, rather than fight the air conditioner, we decided to pack and get going.

Our first stop of the morning was Lackland Air Force Base (aka new name: Joint Base San Antonio), the home to the Air Force’s Basic Military Training facility. It was there that Ann went through basic training. Apparently, she had some fond memories of her time there. Unlike other recruits, she found her experience much less stressful than growing up with her mother. Even better, she got to eat three times a day and as much as she wanted! The only downfall, besides the marching, was a set of golden arches that she’d see everyday just outside the training grounds. She yearned, but never got, a chance to eat there.

Well, today was her lucky day, but first we had to find the training ground. Having ditched Siri’s navigation, I’ve turned to Google Maps. That app took us to the main base. Of course, I didn’t know any different, but as we drove around, Ann said she didn’t recognize anything, because the Air Force ‘never let us mingle with real military people’.

It took us a while to realize that the training grounds were on the other side of the highway. So, over the highway we went. That’s when things started to look familiar to her. She pointed out the airmen dressed in their blues marching on the parade grounds. Then she pointed to some newer recruits having to go through inspections. Finally she giggled at the sight of the Rainbow Flight group, the newbies who had not been issued their military clothes, so they had to dress in their street clothes (which were a myriad of colors).

Airmen in their blues close to graduation.

Ann’s basic barracks. In the morning she and her co-airmen had to go down the stairs with both hands on the rails chanting. At the bottom the had to line up under the covered area as shown.

The Rainbow Flight Group. They are the newbies. The don’t receive their equipment until their entire group arrives. Ann had to stay in her street clothes for two weeks before all of her group arrived.

Continue reading →

<– Day 24 – Tue. May 5th: San Antonio’s Riverwalk | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 26 – Thu. May 7th: Rainbow Flight & Texas Border Towns –>

Guinness Book of World Records deems this the largest wooden nickel in the world.

Yesterday we spent time in downtown San Antonio. Today we explored areas outside that central area.

First, we walked a couple blocks to Market Square, a three-block area that has been home to the city’s open market roots since the 1890s. At that time, San Antonio was Texas’ largest city.  The area was a multi-cultural area due to Mexican, European, and Asian immigrants. However, these days the area has primarily a Mexican flavor.

In fact, we walked to the market specifically to taste the flavors of Mi Tierra Cafe Y Panaderia. The restaurant was first opened in 1941. It now seats up to 500 people and, according to their own marketing, “Never closes”. It’s a twenty-four hour a day, every day, restaurant. There’s a party atmosphere inside with christmas lights wound around posts, colorful Mexican banners hanging from the ceiling, and reflective pinatas hanging overhead in the lobby.

The lobby of the Mi Tierra Cafe Y Panaderia. The baked looks looked really good!

I chose to go there, not just because of its history, but because they serve a roasted goat dish, something I don’t get often enough. When it arrived, I was very pleased; plenty of goat, along with a tasty cheese enchilada, made for a good meal. The rice and beans were pretty standard tex mex.

Yum. Goat is good!

After our lunch (we had a late start on Wednesday), we wandered Market Square. We even found a couple gifts for our mothers, though said gifts shall remain unmentioned since my mother peeks in on my trip reports from time to time.

Market Square’s ‘Produce Street’, though hard to find much produce here any more. Just minutes later bus loads of people flooded this area.

Continue reading →

<– Day 23 – Mon. May 4th: Keeping Austin Weird | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 25 – Wed. May 6th: Beyond San Antonio’s Riverwalk –>

Ann and I at the Alamo

We left Austin today bound for San Antonio. We tried detouring into the historic old town of Gruene, but found it more tourist trap than historic site, so we continued on to San Antonio.

We arrived in San Antonio so early that we had plenty of time to head down to the Alamo and play tourist. The last time Ann was in town was during her basic training. She didn’t remember the Alamo grounds as being so lush nor could she remember seeing so much tourist -based entertainment (wax museums, Ripleys, etc). I was expecting the Alamo to have a much more sacred feel, but it’s set up to run LOTS of people through it.

As you can see there were no lines while we were there, but it is clear they are ready to handle large crowds.

The back side of the Alamo.

The surprisingly lush gardens within walls. I was expecting a more desert-like area.

Continue reading →