Texas is a HUGE state!

The ride to San Antonio, albeit long, was uneventful.  Cold, wind and dust continues to follow us and at least the sun is shining. There were several areas that are pretty, with wide sweeping curves and no trucks or cars.  The highway hugs the Mexico border and we start to see more Border Patrol activity.  As we get closer to Del Rio, the Patrols increase and we see them on ATV's and in their cars.  As we ride, we have great vistas of the Rio Grande and of Lake Amistad Reservoir.  The Reservoir is divided by the US/Mexico border and with all the patrol activity we decide not to stop and take pictures.  The Rio Grande and the Pecos River are gorgeous. 

We arrive in Del Rio, gas up and grab some lunch.  Since we're in a border town, I suggest that we find a taco stand and for a quick bite.  The only Mexican food we find are full-service sit down restaurants.  We pass Manuel's, which is supposed to be the best, but we don't want to take the time for a long lunch.  

Randy decides on the Golden Chick...why you ask?  The sign also boasts that you can get gizzards!

Randy doesn't even order gizzards because you have to order by the pound!  He ends up with a regular chicken dinner and I order a salad with chicken tenders, which is actually good. They also serve unsweetened ice tea by the gallon, another plus and I will agree with him on this.  My mom, Peggy would love this place just for the ice tea.  

Lunch turned out OK considering we're in a border town, eating fried chicken.  Randy says to let everyone know that the place was packed and we were the only English speaking people there.  So next time you're in Del Rio, pass up all the Mexican restaurants and take Randy's advice and go to the Golden Chick and be sure tell them.. Randy sent you. 

Rattlesnakes & Rednecks

One of the best highlights in Del Rio was at the gas station.  A truck pulls up with guys who've been out fishing and hunting.  They're really disappointed because they caught a rattlesnake and were going to have it for lunch.  Unfortunately, the ice in the cooler melted, the rattler spoiled and they were at the gas station to toss it.  They were so bummed to miss their rattlesnake lunch and to think, I was bummed about eating chicken for lunch.  Iknow, you're all thinking "rattlesnake, taste like chicken". Randy wants to pull the snake out of the garbage can for a photo - I tell him NO.  At that point, I realize that I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore and I'm not even from Kansas!

Next Stop...San Antonio

After the crazy traffic in San Antonio, we land at our hotel and enjoy a dip in the pool and the hot tub.  Weather is perfect; sunny and warm. We head out to the Riverwalk in search of a margarita and Mexican food.  

Success on the margarita not so on the Mexican food.   We did find a few fun bars and enjoyed a couple of tasty beverages.  For a late night snack we landed at an Irish Pub.  Yes, I'm in Texas in search of TexMex or Mexican but the Irish prevail.  Randy has fish & chips and I  enjoy smoked salmon.  Next we're going to Ireland in search of Mexican 

We head out early in the morning in search of Louisana Crawfish.  First we stop off at the Alamo Harley Davidson, to check out Randy's bike.  Everything was fine with his bike and we took a few pictures.

Somehow we missed the real Alamo but found a replica that worked ok for us.

 I also found the twin to my bike!  In the two years since I bought my bike, I haven't seen another Softail CVO on the road.  

The ride through Houston was uneventful full of crazy traffic.  They say Utah drivers are bad but I'm here to tell you so are Texans!  Houston does have an amazing HOV lane - it was the BEST lane we've ridden in.  It's completely separate from all other traffic and we didn't have to pay a toll.  Nice! 

We're happy to get out of Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas and the geography of Texas is HUGE!! It took us 3 days to ride through that state, mostly in wind and dust.  There were a few highlights and lots of gorgeous desert. We're going back at the end of May and the only reason we're glad to go back is to see friends in Dallas and Austin.  

Right now... Louisana is calling and we're excited about crawfish and New Orleans!