Now Texas...

When we entered Texas from Louisiana on I-10, the sign said “El Paso 880 miles”. Yup, we did it all. I got to thinking, 880 miles from Brunswick, Maine would get me almost to Raleigh, NC. That gives you some perspective: Texas is big. Someone once told me it’s different in Texas–they don’t have a state line, they have a border. Texas, where the speed limit is 80. Another interesting fact I learned was motorcycle riders must have either taken a safety course or prove they have health insurance to be able to ride without a helmet.

We had a great visit with Laura’s parents. We never even unhitched the car from the camper for the time we were there. One of the places I wanted to see and visit was Gruene (pronounced Green), a lovely old Texas town heading toward San Antonio. We wandered about the town, had a nice dinner at the Grist Mill. We then went to Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas, and listened to some good country music. We caught up on laundry, filled prescriptions and updated our devices while in Austin. We went to our second Friday Fish Fry with Vicki and Greg and caught up with a childhood friend, Liz McIntyre and her husband Andrew. Liz’s parents were good friends of my Mom and Dad, so our paths would cross when we were young.

Saturday morning Jim and I got together with my nephew Leland, my brother Mark’s middle son. We saw Lee and his wife Maggie and little Sadie and met baby Camden for the first time. It was fun to see them all. We sent a message home to Massachusetts to wish Arya, a first Happy Birthday. She is my sister Kate’s first grandchild. Vicki and Greg took us to their local Mexican restaurant for lunch, then a hot walk in the park to see a Thomas Dambro troll. There are five of them in Maine at the Botanic Garden. After that we explored the Texas Military History Museum, which was fascinating and then went to Mass to celebrate Palm Sunday. Sunday morning we were off, still a bit of Texas left! Jim had gotten a one night stay at Balmorhea State Park, a 400 mile drive west from Austin. This was the first day it hit 100 degrees. We got there, and put the AC on to cool off our hot box. This park has a natural spring. The CCC built a pool in the 1930’s. The water was crystal clear and 72 degrees, it was delightful. Temperatures cooled off during the night, so we opened the windows and got fresh air. We passed the 100 degree longitude during the day and lost all trees, except for mesquite. We also passed into Mountain time, so gained an hour! We had a little time in the morning to walk over to the pool, but it was cool and comfortable and we didn’t need to swim. Off to New Mexico!