Day Thirteen

My alarm went off at 7:30 but I dozed until nearly eight before getting dressed and going to the exercise room. The room was quite nice, and I had it all to myself. When I was done with my workout, I found Dan still asleep, so I woke him up and we went downstairs and had breakfast.

By the time we went back to our room, it was ten, and I still hadn’t showered yet. But I’m at that point in a vacation where I’m starting to know how to cope with living out of bags, and I was ready in thirty minutes—shower, makeup, hair, clothes, and everything packed. While I got ready, Dan watched the weather report, and we learned that there was a flash flood in effect for Central Texas and that the whole area had gotten a lot of rain. We weren’t too thrilled at the idea of camping in the mud with the possibility of a flash flood, but we figured we would wait until we got to Kerrville before making a final decision.

We took a few pictures on the way out of Fort Stockton, including one of the roadrunner, which they list as an area attraction, which should give some idea of what they have to do in Fort Stockton.
















It was a long trip east to Kerrville, passing mesas and wind farms. . .



















cutting through the hills. . .

















and finally ending up in the Hill Country, as storm clouds swirled all around us. . .

















and we drove through rain.
















In Kerrville, we stopped at a little coffee bar where I had a really great curry chicken salad and Dan had a roast beef and provolone sandwich. We confirmed the local weather conditions with the shop owner, who told us there was flooding in the area. This cinched our decision that we would find a hotel for the night and we decided to push on to Victoria, where we could be sure of finding a decent hotel while being reasonably close to Yorktown, our last stop before going home.

But first we had to go to our favorite bookstore, where we browsed until nearly 5:00. After that, we strolled downtown a little, and then resumed our journey east.


In San Antonio, we did a side trip to find some of the places I remembered from my childhood. We found my church with surprisingly little trouble, for not having been there in thirty years. . .


















But finding home was harder. We finally found the high school, and after that it wasn’t too hard to locate my elementary school. . .


















and finally my house.


















Mission accomplished, we pressed on to Victoria. By now, it was growing dark and soon we were driving down highway 87 in the dark, from town to town.

















We got to Victoria around 9:00 and wandered around a bit before finding a nice place to stay on Navarro. Since our room had a microwave and it was too late to find anything better than a Denny’s open, we went to a grocery store and bought some frozen foods. I got an Amy’s Organics, and Dan got a Marie Calendar’s, so we were set.

And now were settled for the night. Our plan for tomorrow is to see the presidio at Goliad, then go to Yorktown and see Dan’s aunt. Then we’re off toward home.

Tomorrow night’s post will be from the comfort of my bedroom!

Day Twelve

I got up at 7:30 and went to use the exercise room. It was still under construction and had only a recumbent bike and treadmill. I have never been able to use a recumbent. They bother my knees and I can’t get my heart rate up, anyway. So I got on the treadmill, which was brand new and very nice. There was no TV in the room, so I decided to do an interval workout. Intervals are great for making the time pass, for some reason. And after a bit, Dan wandered in with a bagel and coffee from the breakfast buffet and he kept me company while I finished my workout.

We had hoped we could get into a tour at the caverns today, but the ones that we wanted were full, and the only one available was four hours long and involved getting wet and dirty—not good when you’ve got a long drive ahead of you afterwards. So we did the self-guided tour. It was an easy tour, with asphalted trail, railings and just enough light to see by without ruining the entire cave effect. In sum, it was nice, but not particularly strenuous.


















The route down from the cave entrance is about 750 feet, and there’s a lot to see on the way down.


















































It took about an hour and a half to make our way down, seeing everything there was to see.



































The only thing I didn’t like about the tour was the tourists. It was a weekend and not high season yet, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. But the rangers don’t let you in before they explain the rules, and they’re quite clear that there is to be no talking, only whispering. Just why this is so hard for grown adults to understand is quite beyond me, but it sure explains why some kids act up the way they do. When even the grownups refuse to play by the rules, how can anyone expect the children to do better?

But enough of that. Once we were at the bottom of the cave and had done the loop of stuff to see, we went to the cavern gift shop and restaurant, where Dan had a sandwich and I had a soft pretzel at one of the picnic tables in the depths of the cavern. It’s not everyday you get to eat 750 underground!

















After we ate, we took the elevator back to ground level, checked out the gift shop and bookstore, then went to a vista point where we could get some shots of the canyon and desert around us.























There was a desert nature trail somewhere out there, but we decided to hit the road, even though it wasn’t a long drive to Fort Stockton.

















Well, it was just as well we left when we did. Once we were out on the flat West Texas plains, Dan got sleepy and I had to keep him caffeinated.




















Then just as he started saying how perky he was and how he could continue on, dark clouds started rolling in.

















Luckily we had made reservations the night before in Fort Stockton. It’s the only town for the next several hundred miles, and they do a thriving hotel business. If you can’t find a place to stay here, you’re looking at questionable truck stops, camp sites, or hauling it on to nearly San Antonio.

As I was waiting to check in, the phone rang and the girl at the counter took a reservation for her last non-smoking room. Good thing we booked ahead! And a good thing we got to Fort Stockton when we did, because fat heavy drops began to fall as we unloaded, and just as we got everything into our room, the skies opened up and it just poured, hail and all. A young couple from California joined us on the balcony to watch, staring in amazement. Apparently they don’t get hail in Monterrey, and they were fascinated that ice would fall from the sky like that.

It took about an hour for the storm to abate, but finally Dan and I headed out in search of food. We decided on a Chinese place recommended by the hotel, and although it sounds strange to eat Chinese food in Fort Stockton, we’d already done steakhouses and Mexican food in other places on our trip, so it was a welcome change. My tofu and vegetables were quite tasty, too!

When we got back to the hotel, I checked the exercise room and I think I’m going to have a very nice workout in the morning. And then we’re off to see what adventure we can dig up. Our first choice is to camp at Lost Maples. But if the weather isn’t good or if it’s too muddy, we’ll just knock around Central Texas for an afternoon. Then Saturday is when we see Dan’s aunt in Yorktown, and after that, home!